Chapter 448 - Court Member (Patreon)

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

A small trigger warning. This chapter talks about grooming. It's a quick passage, and it doesn't go into detail, but the subject appears. If you don't want to read that skip the paragraph that start with "Keep in mind what I just said, OK?" and start again when it starts with 'I just realized'

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After Helena told them all to stay quiet, the group didn't say anything. They walked through the door to go back to the waiting room and only after the door had closed and the Jester's laughter could no longer be heard, did Alex turn to Helena, "What was that about? Was that girl really about to say something that bad?"

Helena let out a long sigh, "First of all, remember that what happened there might not be real. The events inside might not have any relation to something that happened outside. And if they do have a connection, the people involved should be long gone. This dungeon has been here for a long time, and I don't think anyone would have survived this long. Well, maybe elves, but again, we have no idea if this actually happened. And since there are several possible outcomes from this dungeon, I doubt they are all real, even if they happened somewhere else."

"Somewhere else? Do you mean like in another room? I thought dungeons were only about the things that happened in that room, or they were one of those created by the MAZE," Blue asked.

"That's true in most cases. But in rooms where there are a large number of dungeons, they may be related to events that happened elsewhere. There's no limit to that. We can be here, and a dungeon can show up about things that happened in the 50th layer, if that even exists, and we have no way of knowing," Bonnie explained.

"Oh… I didn't know that" Blue looked down, feeling like she had overlooked something important.

"That's not really common knowledge. So don't worry. Most people don't really care about where the dungeons came from. They only wanna know what they can get out of it," Hera bumped Blue's shoulder, trying to cheer her up.

"Doesn't that also mean that there is a possibility that the MAZE doesn't create dungeons out of nowhere? Like, what if all dungeons are just things that happened somewhere else?" Blue asked.

"You know that's an interesting train of thought. There are actually a small number of scholars that share that theory. Then again, it's one thing to have a theory, another to prove it. Not to mention that there are some obvious holes on that," Bonnie nodded.

"Yeah, like what Alex and I saw in the Moon Station. If we are to say that all dungeons exist because they happened somewhere, then that means that there are more rooms that are moon based out there. Or, using another example, there is a room with a sunflower farm by the foot of a tree the size of a mountain," Hera added.

"There's also the No Hotel. Trust me I don't think anything like that ever happened in a room. And there are a lot of weird dungeons, and I don't mean they just don't fit the room. I'm talking about drug-filled bad trip levels of weirdness. Like fingers made out of screws and tentacle eyes," Helena shivered.

"Talking from experience?" Hera asked with a smirk.

"OK, OK, OK, but what is the deal with the Jester? I'm still weirded out about that. You are not the type to scream like that, Lena," Alex pulled back the conversation.

"Keep in mind what I just said, OK? What I'm telling you might just be something that the MAZE made," Helena looked toward the group, confirming that everyone understood what she was saying, "When I came here a long time ago, I found that Jester. Different traps, but it was the same girl, I'm sure of it. We asked about what happened, and her story was, well… troubling. I'm not gonna go into details like she would have, and I'll keep it brief. Basically, the pianist groomed her. He was her teacher since she was 8 or 9, then he promised to marry her when she got older, but then she found out that he was sleeping with her mother and her at the same time. That triggered a fight, and she ended up killing her mother, then going after him only to be rejected because he was with someone else, and that's when she well… became like that. It's not a fun story, and the amount of detail she puts into it is not something I want to hear again. Ever."

"How old was she when they were…." Blue started asking but was cut off immediately.

"I didn't ask. But she said he waited for her to grow up. I just don't know what that means, and I don't want to know. There that's the story. Can you please move on? I know this kind of thing happens, but it's really not a subject that I like talking or thinking about. If that happened with anyone I know, people would be dead and I would be in jail," Helena pleaded, and everyone else seemed to agree.

"I just realized, how do we get out of here? Can we just leave or do we have to do something with the line outside?" Blue asked after a long pause.

"Right, I didn't think about that," Hera scratched her head.

"I figured you guys would forget this detail. Don't worry about it. There's an app for the people who stay here, and you can just stay here and enter the queue. And, because most people forget about this, one person can queue up their entire party. The only problem is that I'm gonna have to be the last one to leave since everything is already set up," Helena shrugged.

Alex sat on one of the chairs, "How long do we have to wait?"

"About 5 minutes before the first one can go out, then between one and two minutes for each. It seems like there's a big group coming through, and everything's a bit backed up," Helena sat on the couch, following Alex's lead.

"I'm going to see my reward then," Blue announced and pulled up her tablet. When she touched the reward button, a small Jack in the box appeared in front of her. A simple white wooden box with a lever on the side. Without a second thought, Blue started to turn the lever, and the melody came out as if it was a music box. She kept turning at a steady pace, and every time it seemed like the song would stop, it started once again. After about 40 seconds of turning, the top finally popped open with a loud laugh. It seemed a bit like the jesters left, but this one was less crazy and a bit more robotic. The box collapsed and changed its shape to that of a small piano key chain. Blue took a moment to read the notification before speaking, "This kind of sucks. It's a magic music box that has a calming effect on monsters. Like, I get it, but…."

"It's a nice souvenir. If you don't wanna keep it or give it to someone later, we can just sell it for the Guild. I'm sure we can make some money out of it," Hera suggested.

"I guess," Blue shrugged.

"If I don't get that, I can buy it from you. Giving something like that to my mother might be a good idea. Just in case," Bonnie added before getting her reward. It was a white tailcoat that increased any music-based effects. Something that will be amazing for a performer or someone who has some sort of music based abilities. But for her, it was going on a sell pile. Helena didn't even get a jack in the box, just some gold as the reward, since it wasn't her first time running the dungeon. Hera almost forgot that this was the reward for the first time completion and not what she would get all the time. A while back, she changed the notification in dungeons to not show any 'first time, first day, first week' and things like that. They were too confusing and she always felt too much pressure when one of those special notifications showed up. Now, the only one that would appear was when she was the first person to ever run a dungeon. Alex got somewhat lucky. From her jack in the box appeared the pianist hat. That same weird tentacle-looking hat that the Jester was clutching before they left the dungeon. According to the item description, each tentacle could do something different, from protecting her from certain effects to attacking her enemies or using items. But there was one very big problem.

"This thing is so ugly," Alex gasped.

"Yeah, I don't know how anyone can pull that one-off. Blue nodded

"It's probably worth a pretty penny. If I remember correctly, that one is one of the most expensive items we can get in the dungeon," Helena tried to look it up on her tablet, but the warning about being their turn showed up, "Oh, who wants to go first?"

"I'll go. I need to use the bathroom. I'll meet you guys up front," Bonnie got up and left the waiting room.

Hera started twisting the lever in her Jack in a box until it finally sprang open, turning into a pair of small sword earrings. They were the type that would be dangling from her ear with a tip pointed down. There were no special details or anything like that. Just simple metal swords that weren't even that heavy. Hera had worn hoops that seemed to weigh more.

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Mental Defenders - Earrings
Rarity: Rare

A pair of earrings shaped like swords, Given to those who overcame the trails of a trap made to ruin your psyche.

Item Skill:
Mental protection
The earrings provide a passive increase in your resistance against mental attacks and can be activated to double that increase for a limited amount of time.

Passive increase: 15%
Active duration: 30 minutes
Cooldown: 5 hours
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"Ha, neat. I wonder if I can use the mana in my earrings if they are somewhere else," Hera spoke out loud.

"It's a bit tricky, but you can't do that. You just need to make sure that they are still touching your skin since that's how earring mana stones usually are. Or if you want, we can look for belts or something that you can use in their place," Helena suggested, "What can those do?"

"Hera! I know I might sound crazy, but you can add those to your court. Well, not now since you're already full, but those earrings are eligible for it," Daskka perked up, making Hera miss what Helena just asked.

"What do you mean I can add them to my court? Those are earrings, not weapons," Hera gasped.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. One of the previous holders figured out that the legacy recognizes anything that has a blade as a possible member of the court. Well, anything is a bit of a stretch. Most things that can be used as weapons can be part of the court as long as they are bladed. And those earrings are. On the side of the tip, there is a tiny part that can be used to cut something, even if the blade is very dull, but it fits," Daskka made some smoke shapes to illustrate what she meant. This time, she did that by using the legacy, so Hera was the only one who could see it.

"But these don't have any scaling. And would it count as one slot or as two since it's two earrings?" Hera asked.

"Just one. Is the same thing if you get a pair of twin blades or any weapons that the system considers a single thing instead of two. If they are part of a pair, they are considered a single blade, and they can move away from each other. Well, a little bit but like a meter tops."

"Right… but how would the earrings help? They can't actually fight," Hera scratched her head.

"They can. Think of your earrings as you would one of your poison needles. They can fly around seemingly undetected and attack with precision. Or they could just fly by one of the blades and be almost like an extension of them, or.." Daskka continued giving other examples of how a pair of earrings could work as a weapon, taking some information from how the previous holder used her blades," Or, you can have them for support. Like scouting or warning the rest of the court of ambushes and things. Technically, despite being a single entity, it will have two points of view."

"Really? How does that work?"

"I have no idea. But that's how it will be."

"Ok… give me some time to think. I'm not sure if I want to let these join just yet, but we'll keep an eye out for accessories that can work," Hera nodded.

"Armor too! Some might work. I think…. Maybe… We need to check," Daskka added excitedly, wagging her tail almost like a dog.

"Hera? It's your turn," Helena managed to snap the explorer out of the conversation.

"Already?" Hera looked around. Only Helena and her were inside the waiting room," Where is everyone?"

"They all left already. You seemed to be talking about something important, so we didn't want to interrupt. But now we don't have much of a choice, you know," Helena gestured to the tablet showing that it was their turn.

"OK, sure. Sorry about that, I'll be going. I'll explain what we were talking about when I have a chance, and you asked me something, didn't you?" Hera got up but stopped before leaving the room.

"I did, but don't worry about it. Just go, and we'll talk later. Also, don't forget to tell Ninelyn about your legacy. He's gonna flip that you found one that wasn't among our leads," Helena chuckled, "If he sends you a voice message, which I'm sure he will, let me hear it. It will be priceless."

"I'll send him a text as soon as we get out of here," Hera nodded and left the waiting room.

She went into the central area and arrived relatively quickly. Not long after, Helena joined them, and the group left the tower. Even if this dungeon didn't take that long to complete, it was mentally exhausting, and they wanted to take a break. Their first stop was one of the stores in the room, and while everyone was selling the items they got, Hera wanted to take a look at some weapons and accessories.