Chapter 518 - Shtylla Archipelago (Patreon)

Hera's Status


The Royal Explorers spend the night in the building they created by the doorway. It was very likely that more people would use it later, and Hera told everyone that if they wanted, they could bring it all down, but the dwarves opted to leave it up. For one, If the next room was somewhat dangerous, they could come back here to rest instead of staying in a place where they would have to spend the whole night worried about monster attacks. Another reason for not removing the building was that the dwarves wanted to help others who might one day come here. Hera did try to explain to them how people would pay good money for a building like this, and making one for free would make them lose a lot of gold, but the dwarves didn't care all that much about that. Even if they were already getting used to the idea of paying for things, they still had a mentality of not charging for basic needs. Back in Boothudurn, the dwarves wouldn't have to pay for food, water, or electricity, as long as they were willing to help the city one way or another. Because of that, they considered shelter a basic need, and it would still take a lot of work to make the place liveable. Right now, it was little more than a glorified campsite.

Either way, it was the dwarves' decision, and Hera would respect it. Especially now that she had something more important to think about. They were all in front of the odd hexagonal structure, getting ready to go to the new room.

"Okay, guys, I just want to remind you of one thing before we head in. Even if we know that the doorway should be in a safe location, that doesn't mean there will be no monsters around. The odds are pretty slim, but it is possible that when we go in there, we will meet a monster right away. Because of that, the first group that's going to cross is going to be made out of the strongest people we have here. Grom is going first, then Callena, Farica, Mylo, then the rest of us," Hera explained.

"Hera, I think it might be a good idea if you went in first. Even if I'm at a higher level, because of Nimbus and your court, you have a numerical advantage," Grom suggested.

"Are you sure? You know that even if I'm using the entire court, I can't win a fight against you."

Grom nodded, "It's one thing if you are fighting 1 on 1. I know that I don't have to defeat your court. I just have to defeat you. I don't believe a monster would have the same insight."

Hera thought for a moment, and she had to agree with his logic, "Ok then. I'll be going first, and you will come after me, the rest of the order remains the same."

They all started heading up in a line. Blue and Alex wanted to go sooner, but they understood why they wouldn't be going right after her. When considering the level of all Royal Explorers, the two of them would be just a bit above the average, but that didn't include Grom or Callena. The two of them were above level 35, which messed up the curve a lot.

As they discussed, Hera was the first to touch the doorway.

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Shtylla Archipelago - 10th Layer

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Before pressing yes, she recalled Daskka and her court just in case. She never tried to cross a doorway when they were out, and she was afraid that the process could hurt them in some way. There was no reason for her to think that, but her paranoid side won every time. A warm feeling of being submerged in hot water covered her body, and soon, her vision was flooded with a bright light. When she regained control of her body, she entered the Shtylla Archipelago.

She only had time to realize that she was, in fact, on an island and that there was some vegetation around her before noticing a large two-legged creature with green scales. Fur was covering its long and muscular arms that went all the way to its ankles. Each of its hands was massive, large enough to carry three watermelons with a single hand, which the creature was doing. Its torso was the definition of an hourglass body, with extremely broad shoulders, a tiny waist, and a set of extremely large legs that didn't seem to fit a biped. No, the legs would fit more like a Rhino or a Hippo. On top of its body, there was a somewhat humanoid face. It was completely bald and with cloudy white eyes. A couple of lumps on the sides of its head seemed to be its ears. Framing its face, there was some hair that could be very easily considered a beard, even if patchy in places. But the lack of a nose and the thin line that should be its mouth made Hera weary. That line would make three points, two that could be the edges of its mouth and another that went up the face until reaching where one would see the bridge of the nose. It felt unnatural as if there was something deeply wrong with this creature.

When Hera appeared, she wasn't the only one who noticed something. The creature also realized that someone was close by. It stared at the human who had just arrived, and nothing seemed to happen for a couple of seconds. Until the monster opened its mouth, the three-pointed line opened up, revealing that most of its face was actually its mouth. Three flaps pointed out towards Hera as it roared, and small tendrils came out of its throat, reaching out to her, even if they were far away.

Seeing that maw filled with teeth and tentacles, Hera jumped to the side and called all of her court, "Shit! Shit! Shit!"

"Is that how you want to call us now… What the hell is that thing!" Daskka gasped as she appeared and took her silver mist form, becoming bigger and more solid.

The monster lunged at Hera with both arms out, arms that seemed to detach and become four, and a web-like structure connecting the two pieces almost like the flaps of a wingsuit. Its claws came crashing down, but Nimbus stepped forward and pushed it away, "Fuck, that thing is heavy!" the Sentinel gasped.

"It's called a Scavenger Bugfish, and it is level 28!" Armory told everyone.

"How do you know that?" Hera pulled Fang and Claw using the Bloody Claw attack to hit the monster. A line of red energy came out of the dagger and split into three, going for the creature's head, body, and waist.

"I used Observe," Armory replied as Frost and Core went for a pincer maneuver. Trying to stop the arms that were now going after Nimbus. The Sentinel triggered the Frozen Ash aura to reduce any incoming damage, but the temperature didn't seem to be much of a bother for the Bugfish. The Bloody Claw attack slammed against it, and some cuts could be seen, but it wasn't the damage that Hera was expecting. It seemed like this monster had a strong defense.

Before anything else happened, Grom appeared in front of the doorway, "What the..!?"

"Bad guy!" Hera yelled, but the assassin was already ahead of her. He jumped to the side and, in a flash, appeared above the monster, cutting the back of the creature's neck. The Bugfish was still alive and roared in pain, but Hera wasn't about to let up. She told her court to strike and activated Fang's grasping strike. When she hit the creature, several small white threads appeared around the monster, binding the monster. Daskka joined in, wrapping around it to reinforce the bind. Hera had no idea how long it would last, but it didn't matter. The few moments where the Bugfish couldn't move were enough for Grom, Hera, Nimbus, and her court to attack until the creature was dead.

Hera took a few deep breaths trying to calm herself. She wasn't afraid of a creature like this. She had seen and fought worse, but the moment it changed shape and lunged at her gave her a jump scare.

"I guess it's a good thing you told us this could happen," Grom turned to Hera after removing the Bugfish's head from its body. Doing that was something they had learned during the training. When seeing a new monster, it was better to make sure they were dead and not just playing possum.

The rest of the team started to arrive, and they all formed a perimeter around the doorway. If there was one of those monsters here, it could be more around. Half an hour later, the team had scoured the entire island. It wasn't a big place, to begin with. The forest was small, but each tree was a lush green color, while the grass was a beautiful shade of cyan. The area was just a couple hundred square meters wide, but there were many wild watermelons in the area, as well as a cluster of jackfruit in the center.

This island was on top of a basalt hexagon base, and beyond it, there was water. A lot of water in all directions. However, there were also other islands with the same formation underneath them. From this place, the Royal explorers already managed to see five different islands in the distance. One of them was somewhat close, but the rest was far away. The water looked like an ocean, and people tested it, confirming it was indeed salt water. Still, everyone was weary of getting too close to it since the monsters seemed to be water-based. Despite the humanoid shape, the Bugfish had gills and webbed feet and was, by definition, a fish, or at least a sea creature.

Another thing they found was a cave underneath the island. It was by the sea level, and seemingly it went to the middle of the island, but no one was willing to go there just yet. When they felt safe, they gathered in front of the doorway to confirm their plans.

"We are here. What do we do now?" Hayath asked.

"Now we have options. We already scouted the island, which was the first step. The next step is to either look into the rest of the islands or see what is around them and make a base camp here, but that comes with its own problems. Or, we can try to check the ocean… that is a very bad idea, but it is an idea," Hera explained.

Blue scoffed, "Bad idea is being generous. Going into the water with those things around would be the same as asking to be killed."

"Yeah. Maybe we can tell people about this room and call over some of the triton. This place should be their specialty," Chiton spoke up.

"That is a possibility, but then we are going to have to wait for a while before being able to do anything," Hera nodded.

"I don't know if this helps, but when we looked in the North? West? That side," Lorna pointed to the back of the doorway, "There seemed to be an underwater bridge."

"Oh, that's good. Let's go check it out," Hera smiled, and everyone went along to see this bridge. It didn't take long for them to get there and realize that it was more of a path than a bridge. A couple of centimeters deep in the water, this hexagonal structure was made of several different pieces that seemed to be going to the closest island. It was also considerably wide. Five people should be able to walk side by side without a problem.

"Well, this helps but still leaves the problem of the monsters," Blue sighed.

"Yeah. Guys, before we do anything, I want everyone to think about ways of protecting ourselves while we cross this. Both in case we are attacked by a monster, and in case we slip into the water. Split into smaller groups to talk. Coming up with ideas with a larger team is hard," Hera told everyone who did as she said, making smaller groups to check everything. For once, Blue and Alex joined with the Countess. It's been a while since they hung out together. On the other hand, Mylo went with Bralac and Callena to look into the rest of the island. They wanted to ensure they didn't miss paths like that elsewhere.

"So… any suggestions?" Blue asked.

"I thought about making a rail, but to do that all the way to the next island should take a few days at least," Hera sighed.

"I wish Adriel was here," Alex looked into the distance.

"Why?" Blue asked.

"He has a few spells that help move underwater. He can even make a bubble to protect things, but he prefers to swim. There is this spell that gives him a tail that is really pretty," as Alex explained, Hera couldn't help but start giggling, "What's so funny?"

"Sorry, no. I'm stupid," Hera couldn't stop.

"What? I want to know too."

Hera snorted, "He likes to sing and is half fish. He's a perfect mermaid just adding the D."

"The D?" Alex asked, confused.

"Fuck!" Blue started laughing, but Alex still didn't get it. Seeing that, the controller explained, "Take the D out of his name."

"What are you…." the realization dawned on Alex, "Oh no. Please no. I'm not dating a cartoon, am I?"

"That depends. Is his best friend a yellow fish?" Hera asked.

"No!... But when they were little, people called his best friend Blunder…."

Hearing that, Blue and Hera just started laughing nonstop. The rest of the groups were also discussing their ideas while at the same time talking amongst each other. Unbeknown to them, dark figures were approaching from the opposite side of the island, attracted by the smell of blood, blood from one of its own kind.