Chapter 423 - Back at the temple (Patreon)

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Ancient Beastmen language

[Alphabet] [Vocabulary] [ Grammar] [ Search] [Translate]
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"Oh wow," Hera gasped, looking at the notification. She looked at the vocabulary, and there was a list of all the words she already had translated, even some that she only translated once. It was like she remembered the word as she read it in the window. Looking up the other options, she could see the verbal structure of the language, the alphabet, and what each letter meant, as well as their origin and some references. There was even a sidebar that allowed her to see the equivalent of that letter in different languages, and that also was around all other options. Using the search function was very self-explanatory, and the translate button she could use and either type the word herself or place the window above the text to be translated,  "This is really cool."

Daskka was leaning over Hera's shoulder, and it seemed like she could see the window screen. Using her tail, the snake pointed at a specific word that meant family then pointed at herself.

"Your family? Well.. It's complicated, but there is a dungeon where you might see your mother. We can go there if you want," Hera never went to the Eternal Bond dungeon with Daskka. The idea crossed her mind a few times, but it hurt a lot just thinking about it. Not just because of Chika, but she had a lot of bad memories with that room.

Instead, Daskka shook her head and pointed at the word family again, then she pointed back to Hera.

"That is really cute," Alex, who was in the other bed, smiled at the scene.

"Tell me about it. I don't know what happened, but she's been more emotional ever since we came back from the temple. Not in a bad way," Hera was now petting Daskka, who was wrapping herself around her owner's hand, "You are part of my family too. It doesn't matter what anyone says," she pulled Daskka closer to her face and gave the snake a kiss on her head.

"Could it be the red mist?"

"Red mist?"

"Yeah, the one she used when you were being attacked by that plant thing."

Hera stopped to think for a moment, "I guess that is possible. I remember feeling her anger at the time."

"We could look something up about it. Or, can you look up if you know anything about that?" Alex asked, still not understanding entirely how the skill worked. Bonnie tried to explain how the [Research] skill functioned, but the explanation wasn't the best, meaning the assassin still had some questions about it.

"Well, if I ever stumbled upon that, it can work," Hera changed the current screen going back to the main page. It was just a screen with her name and a search bar. She typed mana construct, and a few articles appeared. Unfortunately, even after glancing at them, there was nothing that could help her understand what was going on with Daskka. She changed to look for Daskka herself and found several entries explaining how the snake behaved and even a couple of pictures. Those pictures were literal snapshots of moments Hera and Daskka shared from Hera's point of view. It was incredible but somewhat worrying at the same time. Could the skill save everything she had seen? "Hey, Alex. Can you confirm one thing for me? You can't see the screen that's in front of me, right?"

"Right. To me, you are just looking at the air."

"OK," Hera turned to Daskka, "Do you mind staying on the other side of the bed just for a moment?"

Daskka jumped from Hera's shoulder and flew towards Alex, landing on the assassin's lap. It was the first time Daskka willingly went to someone else, and Hera didn't know what to make of it. Still, there was one thing she wanted to confirm. She looked up Silah and then went to the area where she could see the pictures, and thankfully there weren't any intimate images. It would be one thing if they decided to take pictures like that together, another if she was taking them without talking with her girlfriend, even if it was because of a skill that she couldn't control.

Out of curiosity, Hera did a quick search online, and it seemed like she wasn't the only one worried about that. There were quite a few articles and forums discussing the ramifications of the skill, but apparently, the system had placed an NSFW filter in the pictures. No one could save intimate images, it didn't matter how hard one tried. That being said, some issues still existed. For instance, in a specific article, there was a heated argument because of the idea that those random pictures could save things that others didn't want to share. Classified documents, children, maps, and other kinds of sensitive materials still could appear in the pictures.

After clearing out her doubts, Hera just closed the window and the tablet and adjusted herself in the bed. Even if she wasn't up for a long time, she was still tired enough to sleep early. On the following day, Hera did her best to learn everything she could from different languages. While looking around the library, Alex found something that seemed interesting. There was a place in the MAZE that seemed to be able to help people get rid of curses. It was a room made of a set of islands, and inside each island, there was a trial. People who completed all the trials could detox their bodies of any harmful substance, including any sort of curse or ailment.

"Hey, can you explain to me how that memory spell works again?" Alex turned to Hera.

"The selective memory filter?"

"Yeah."

"I mean, sure, but will that help? You use equations for spells, don't you?" Hera looked up from the research window.

"I do, but I want to see if I can figure it out. If things work well, I can even get the stealth skill tomorrow. I want to improve my ability to hide. I kind of realized how important that is when the flower thing grabbed you. If we were well hidden enough, then maybe that thing wouldn't have seen us."

"Yeah, but that would only work if both of us had the skill. I mean, the thing did come after me," Hera added.

"True, but maybe if it was just one of us, it wouldn't have noticed," Alex was now petting Daskka, who was still on her bed.

"Well… we have no way of knowing that, but I get your point. Let me see…." Hera did her best to explain what was going on with the spell, but she herself wasn't completely aware of how some of the details worked.

They talked until the end of the day and then some more in the morning. Alex still was unable to figure out the spell, but she felt like she was taking a step in the right direction. After breakfast, they split off, Hera went to the library again, and Alex went to the training rooms in the guild. Hera spent the entire day trying to make as many languages as possible appear in her [Explorer's Research] skill. By the end of the day, she had a rough understanding of half a dozen languages, but she could identify at least 20 different ones thanks to the skill. It was interesting that unlike what happened with actual researchers, Hera wasn't learning the subjects properly. Instead, it was more like she was creating a database with all the information pertaining to a topic. Unfortunately, that wasn't perfect either. Some of the words she managed to translate wouldn't appear on the research screen, and that was because she forgot what they meant. The words she remembered, even if it was only after actually seeing the word, would still show up.

By the end of the day, Hera felt like she already had a decent grasp on how the skill worked, and she felt ready to take the legacy test. Yet, she and Alex agreed to wait for the morning, to Silah's dismay. During the past days, the blacksmith had become more and more angry at Hera for not coming back, and it seemed like she would continue complaining even after they were on their way home. Hera was doing her best not to let it bother her, but it was hard. She couldn't even remember the last time they talked, and it wasn't an argument. While trying not to think too much about that, Hera dove even deeper into her language studies.

The next day, Hera and Alex double-checked if they had everything they needed before heading back to the temple. Since Hera remembered the shape of the key, and she could even see a picture of Kirouhebi's statue in her research window, she could open the portal at any time. Luckily, the hotel they were staying at was located outside the Ziggurat, meaning that they wouldn't even have to leave their room to go to the temple.

"Welcome back. I must admit that I expected you two to come back sooner," Kirouhebi came down from the cloud ceiling inside the temple.

"I wanted to come back sooner, but Hera had some things to take care of," Alex smiled and nodded to greet the dragon.

"Well, and what is the reason for your visit today?" Kirouhebi lowered his head.

Hera smiled, "I came to get the legacy. I'm confident that this time it will work."

"And I wanted to talk to you about… that subject. I have some ideas," Alex added.

"Very well. Can you reach the armory on your own?"

"I think so, but I might get lost," Hera had an idea. She opened her treasure map and saw the layout of the temple. It was incomplete, but she could follow it to find the same places she found before, "Nevermind. I can get there on my own. Unless you have a way to get me there faster."

Kirouhebi smiled, "Unfortunately. I don't have any way to teleport you in here. And, I don't like the idea of being someone's ride."

Hera nodded, "Yeah, that would be a bit weird. But I think I can get there. Can I call you if I get lost?"

"Of course."

"Thanks!" Hera nodded and started heading towards the armory again.

Kirouhebi and Alex watched Hera move away before the dragon turned to the assassin, "So, what is your idea?"

"Have you ever heard of the Dispersion Pearl?" Alex pulled up her tablet to show what she had found.

It took Hera about fifteen minutes to arrive at the armory. She got a bit lost even when using the map, but only because a few of the hallway entrances blended too much with the sides of the corridors. In there, she found the stack of boxes filled with weapons just as she had left them. She went straight for the second crate in the middle and saw the familiar dagger sitting at the bottom of the wooden container. Touching the dagger showed a notification again.

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You have found a legacy.

You are being transported to the location of the legacy trial.
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Find and wield the weapon used by the previous legacy holder.

Time remaining: 00:50:00

If you fail the test, you will receive a time penalty in your next attempt.

If you mention the test details to anyone, you forfeit any remaining attempts to acquire the legacy.
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Hera was once again in the weapon graveyard. Thousands and thousands of swords, axes, lances, and daggers stuck out from the ground. Hera didn't waste any time. She called Daskka and told the snake to look for any writing that could match a language that she knew while Hera herself did the same thing. It took ten minutes to find something that could be translated, and even when using the [Explorer's Research] to cheat, it took her another twenty minutes to complete the translation of a single inscription due to the wear and tear of the two-handed axe that she was looking at. The blade was white, almost as if it was made out of some sort of bone, and the handle was made of steel. Hera's main struggle to read whatever was written in the weapon was the number of scratches on the blade. She was having trouble identifying what was part of the inscription and what was just a scratch. Still, even when Daskka told her that she found another weapon, Hera continued the translation there. Looking around, all weapons showed signs of wear and tear. Going to another weapon just because it could be better was a waste of time. Or so she thought.

'Deveris Aqua'

"Is it really just their name? Or is it the name and title?" Hera mumbled to herself while she walked to the next weapon that Daskka pointed to. Unfortunately, the snake couldn't help her with the translation, but during the time it took for Hera to understand that inscription, Daskka found another three. They were close by, and Hera managed to take a look at all of them before deciding which one to pick. Compared to the bone axe, these were much better cared for, or at least the weapon's blade was. The sword had a rusty handle that was broken in places, and the glaive's shaft looked more like a twig than an actual weapon, but the blades were pristine. Each inscription followed the same pattern as before. A word that seemed to be a name and something that Hera wasn't sure if it was the last name or the person's title. Since people with last names like 'Steel,' 'Hawk,' and 'Pierce,' existed, that could be the case for those whose names were engraved in the weapons. After a while, she translated the sword, which read 'Barnaby Frost,' and the glaive 'Furion Wood.' However, when she was starting the third weapon, a sai, Hera was covered in bright light and transported to the temple one more time.