Chapter 491 - Showoff (Patreon)

Hera's Status

"Ok. I'm ready. Sorry for the delay, guys," Hera came down the stairs to meet everyone. They were going to the Woolly Plains so they could train in a private area. Aside from Alex, each of them had something they didn't want other people to know about. Blue and Hera had their legacies, and Bonnie and Helena wanted to try some spells they intended to sell later. And despite the lack of reason to go there, Alex didn't want to be the only one left out.

"Are you sure you are ready?" Blue asked.

"Yeah. I got everything. My glaive, the court is always with me, and I'm in full gear," Hera tapped her armor to make sure she didn't forget anything, "Yeah, I'm ready."

"Ok. I guess it makes sense. We are going to train. There is no reason to do your hair," Blue nodded and turned around only to be faced with an angry expression from everyone else, "What?"

"Is it that bad?" Hera asked while going to the mirror in the hall. Blue wasn't wrong. Her hair was a mess. After the fight with Releon, she was in a deplorable state. Alex offered to cut the burnt hair, and Hera accepted, thinking about going to a proper salon later, but later never came. She ended up hanging out with her friends in the Charring Wastes, staying in to rest. On one of the occasions where she actually went out to look for a hairdresser, some of the people she ran dungeons with met her, and she ended up going for drinks. Almost everyone in that room had either a few scars or a banged-up appearance. The fact that they were surrounded by volcanoes and constantly assailed by soot and ash also helped to cover any evident problems. It wasn't like people were dirty, but the low lights and the constant darkness of the surrounding made her hair less of a problem. Another thing that completely escaped her mind was her ear. She had lost the earguards, and when she left the Fall of Bonpei dungeon, the gift Mark gave her was lost.

"It's not that bad. It's a charming messy punk look. You know, the type that makes you think that you don't really care about your appearance," Helena tried to cheer her up.

"Really?" Hera glanced back, but all the girls looked away, "Blue?"

"It kind of looks like you fought with some hair clippers and lost badly," Blue replied bluntly.

Hera just stared at the controller with a blank expression, then turned to Alex, "I'm going to borrow one of your beanies," that wasn't a question but a statement. After really looking at her appearance, Hera felt all her self-esteem go down the drain, and she wasn't going to take a step out of their house before she could hide most of her face. A few minutes later, she came out wearing a black beanie covering her ears and head. She even considered wearing a face mask, but the dwarves of Boothudurn weren't used to that kind of thing, and it would draw more attention than not wearing one.

Everyone grabbed their stuff and started heading out to the dungeon. During that short walk, Bonnie asked Hera to explain the job offer she got the previous night again, "I really don't get why you were so freaked out about the job. It sounds like a good deal."

" I know it sounds good, but it's a lot of responsibility," Hera sighed and looked around at the dwarves walking by, "And I'll be in charge of a group. A team. I'll send a bunch of people who never imagined that there was more than this room to explore places they never thought about. What if somebody gets hurt? Or worse? It would be on me for not training them well enough. Not to mention I have no idea how to actually train them."

"Do you have to train them? I mean, most people here are much higher level than us, aren't they?" Blue asked.

"I think we are a little bit below average now, but that's not the point. Everyone on the guard is stronger than the monsters. No one has to worry about facing something of the same level as they are. Doing this Explorer thing, they won't have the same options. Sure they might find places where the monsters are lower-level, but it's more likely that they're going to end up in places where the monsters have the upper hand. Not to mention, we would have to teach them basic things like don't sleep out in the cold or if you are in the desert, remember to stay hydrated, if you get wet, remember to dry your clothes, so you don't get sick. And how to make a campfire. Do they even know? Even more basic, hunting. They don't know how to hunt. They know how to kill monsters and expect them to drop food, but what about actually butchering them? To take out the pieces and know what parts you can and can't eat. What to aspect from different monsters that resemble some animals. They have many gaps of knowledge."

"No one said it was going to be easy. But I believe you are over thinking this. I mean, some people are born in the MAZE and can't know the animals back on Earth. I'm sure they have ways of learning about that. Not to mention that saying that an animal on Earth is going to be the same as a monster in the MAZE is like saying that chocolate ice cream is the same as a car battery," Bonnie added.

"Besides, we can set up some classes. Bonnie and I have been talking, and until we get some more people to work on spells and more products to sell, the Coven of Witches can offer some courses. Our idea was to have them about magic only, but we could expand. I can see if any of the people I know from the guild are willing to teach and maybe even make a deal with Boothudurn," Helena's eyes were shining with the idea of making her own version of a course for explorers. Hera knew how much she wanted to help the recruits, and doing something like that would be a great case study for what she was trying to propose.

"The deal part is kind of important. I don't know if we could pay for the teachers without some funding. I hope you can talk to the council and help us with that part," Bonnie nodded to Hera.

"Why are you talking as if I'm going to accept this? And you know that 'Coven of Witches' is redundant, right? A Coven is a group of witches," Hera gasped.

"Because you are. We know this. The reasons you are giving to say no are just about you being afraid of getting too much responsibility. But even if you say no, they are making that exploration group either way. So now, even if you refuse, you will still feel guilty if something happens because you didn't help," Alex explained in a very confident tone, almost as if she was just telling something that had already happened. Blue nodded in agreement, and even Helena added that it was obvious.

"I…I…" Hera tried to come up with a response, but she had nothing. Alex was right, and she never had a choice in the matter, "Screw you all!" she huffed and continued walking.

Barely two minutes passed before Blue asked, "So, when are you telling them your answer."

"Don't know. I want to kill something first," Hera continued walking briskly towards the dungeon.

Getting inside was quick and easy. The guards still did their rounds in the dungeon, but there was no longer such a strict entry limitation. This was mostly because of the people who came from other rooms, but a number of citizens were also trying their hands against the monsters.

After the group entered the Woolly Plains, the Empress called out her entire court. Lurize, Scythe, Armory, Core, Beam, Ooze, and Nimbus all came out in their weapon form. Hera wanted to see if she could get at least a basic 'Tonfa Combat' to help the Sentinel since he didn't have those skills, even if it made sense.

"Oh, you're not calling him out? Like his body," Blue asked.

"I was going to try to get a skill first. Why?" Hera turned to her friend.

"No, no. It's ok. I was just curious to see him fight," Blue replied while the rest just watched her with eyes filled with expectation.

"All of you want to see Nimbus fighting?" Hera asked and got a vigorous nod as a reply, "Well, you heard the ladies. Don't keep your fans waiting," Hera said to the tonfas, who promptly turned into smoke and appeared in his humanoid form.

"You wound me, Empress. You have not seen me fighting, and I hoped that you were curious about my capabilities," Nimbus appeared on his knees, bowing to Hera. However, he quickly understood that this wasn't something he should do and got up while turning to the rest of the party, "It is a pleasure to see you all again, even if we were parted just for a few hours."

Hera wanted to be careful with Nimbus but she didn't want to keep him hidden all the time. So, her solution was to have him walk around the house when they weren't expecting visitors. During that time, the Sentinel got a bit closer with everyone. The main reason for that was his politeness and eagerness to help, from small things like doing the dishes to more significant things such as rearranging furniture. Every time one of the girls would need help, he was right there to assist. According to Nimbus, because of his connection with Hera, he was able to notice the small changes in the mana around them. So, as a way to anticipate the Empress' needs, the Sentinel was trying to understand the small changes in the surrounding mana and what they meant. When someone was doing something different, he would go there to check on them so he could match the feeling with the action currently happening.

"I want to see it too," Hera nodded, "There, a group of Woolly Sheep. They are just level 6, but you may be able to show some things. Be as flashy as you want."

"Very well. But I currently don't have mana. So the most flashy aspects won't be showcased for the moment," Nimbus nodded and started moving towards the Woolly Sheep. He dashed with uncanny speed, surprising everyone.

"That's a remnant of his Griffon form. He can go from 0 to 30 km/h in just a second. But he doesn't have much control over his direction when he does that. To be on par with the nature of his mana, as a protector, he needs to be able to reach the Empress at a moment's notice," Daskka explained as she understood Hera's confusion.

"That feels very busted," Hera said to herself, but as if it was a way to show that she was wrong, most of the sheep that noticed Nimbus getting closer managed to evade his initial dash. Only the two in the front were caught by his body slam. However, he wasn't done.

Nimbus kept pushing the sheep at an angle. And he was soon not just dragging them but carrying the two creatures on his shoulders. He continued moving until he got closer to a large rock. That's when the Sentinel opened his wings and let the monsters slam against the environment. Following that up, he started flying around the stunned sheep, slashing at them with the tonfas. Maybe it was because of his skill or the difference in attributes, but even the wool from the monsters wasn't enough to protect them from his attacks. He cut them like butter and moved as if using the Dorohla Style. Hera never expected it to work in the air, but then again, her blades could use it since they were not limited by the presence of feet. A Woolly Ram appeared out of nowhere and dashed towards Nimbus. Instead of dodging, the Sentinel simply stood his ground while still in the air. He was able to hold himself with the power of its wings alone. The titled blade grabbed the ram's horns and started flying to the sky. He managed to go about 100 meters up  when his strength started leaving him.

Feeling that something was wrong, Hera called him "Nimbus? What's happening?"

'I'm not sure. I feel weaker,' the Sentinel replied in her mind but his voice was far away and muffled.

"That's the limit of his range. Unlike the other blades, the ones with a title can move beyond their maximum range, but that makes them lose attributes at a steady pace. If it takes too long for him to come back, the penalty will last longer," Daskka explained to both of them, and Nimbus promptly dropped the ram while moving closer to the Empress.

He reached the ground before the ram and moved towards Hera and the others. However, the sheep was still alive, and the Empress didn't want it to bother them while everyone was praising her blade. She flung a poison needle and said, "Purge," a unique trigger for her poison control spell. It was just a way for her to trigger several effects at once without having to go over each of them. The only issue was that she was used to facing stronger enemies. The command 'purge' was supposed to make the poison spread quickly and then come out of the target's body while leaving some bubbles of air behind. Doing so would make those bubbles extremely hot and cause a feeling akin to blood loss and a fever. But all that was tailored to the dungeon in the Charring Wastes. Doing so with a level 6 monster resulted in something different. Instead of just making the sheep leak her poison and some blood through the eyes and nose, the blood came out from all the pores with explosive violence. As a result, the ram burst like a balloon filled with wine.

"Damn, Hera…" Alex gasped while watching the red spray fall to the ground.

"Oops, I messed up the ratio," Hera scratched the back of her head.

"Oops? You do that and say oops?" Bonnie gasped.

"What? It's just a monster," Hera scoffed before launching two nearby sheep to the sky using her stone pillar. She made the rock jet up as a piston, which worked out great. She knew that people would be annoying because of her spell, but she wasn't in the mood to hear about it. The rest of the party realized they wouldn't be able to talk to Hera right now, but they still gathered around Nimbus to gawk at what he had just done. The Sentinel was worried, but he also understood that part of his job was to protect the Empress, even from uncomfortable conversations.