Chapter 803 - No time to rest (Patreon)

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Rampage Quest Complete
Region - Hearthome
Hidden quest complete - the Empty Caldera

The Forge Lord, who lives inside the caldera at the bottom of the spire, was killed after he left the volcano itself, and the new Forge Lord never managed to reach the magma. Instead, the wendigo controlling the army was killed and fell into the hot lava before it was able to withstand it.
Now, the caldera lays empty and will remain so for the next 6 months.
The contribution of all those involved in the fight has been tallied. Your reward will be proportional to your contribution.

Rewards

8th place - Forgotten Forge Passkey

Gloom Bat (30 gold each): 1350 kills = 40 500 gold
Magma Spider (50 gold each): 954 kills = 47 700 gold
Ash Gremlin (300 gold each): 256 kills = 76 800 gold
Void Weaver (700 gold each): 48 kills = 33 600 gold
Cloudwing Striker (600 gold each): 268 kills = 160 800 gold
Magma Crawler (200 gold each): 105 kills = 21 000 gold
Soot Golem (650 gold each): 82 kills = 53 300 gold
Cloud Serpent (100 gold each): 19 kills = 1 900 gold
Magma Construct (850 gold each): 64 kills = 54 400 gold
Ash Reaver (700 gold each): 69 kills = 48 300 gold
Cinder Hound (900 gold each): 163 kills = 146 700 gold
Molten Elemental (4 500 gold each): 6 kills = 27 000 gold
Whispering Crystal (350 gold each): 80 kills = 28 000 gold
Smoke Weaver (500 gold each): 37 kills = 18 500 gold
Forge Magma (800 gold each): 4 kills = 32 000 gold
Ember Wyvern (3 000 gold each): 12 kills = 36 000 gold
Sky Leaver (900 gold each): 14 kills = 12 600 gold
Ember Garuda (6 000 gold each): 6 kills = 36 000 gold
Skystone Watcher(3 000 gold each): 3 kills = 9 000 gold
Forge Lord (30 000 gold each): 1 kill = 30 000 gold
Rampage completion bonus: 250 000 gold

Total gold rewards:  1 061 800 gold
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You have leveled up.

Current level: 40
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Hera was going back to the Core Spire with Vash; they were on the elevator going up, which would take a while. During this time, she took a moment to check the rampage reward and to check if there were any notifications that popped up during the fight that needed her attention. 

"Are you ok?" Vash asked.

"Yeah. I'm just looking over the things I got. I made over a million gold in just a week… It feels surreal."

"Dam, you got a lot more than me. I reached just a bit over 700k. And that is with the completion bonus."

"It's probably the Pool of Styx. Because of it, even monsters I never saw ended up counting. But not all of them. Maybe one in ten or one in a hundred was added to my tally."

"Still, considering how many monsters showed up here, your final reward makes sense," Vash nodded.

"Yeah, I agree. What place did you get? In the total ranking, I mean." 

"I'm 45. I think the stage and having helped with the Wendigo made it that high. Still, you should be higher, right? I mean, between what you did with the wendigo, the spell that covered the entire place, and everything else. I wouldn't be surprised if you are in the top 5." 

Some of the other people in the elevator pretended not to listen, but they were all curious. The mention of one million gold and the spell covering the entire place made them connect the dots that this snake woman was the one responsible for the buff they all received. 

"Actually, I'm not. I got 8th place. I imagine that the commanders are higher up. And the people who killed the forge lords. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a healer in the mix, too, especially after that attack in Hearthome. A lot of people were hurt," Hera said.

"I heard that a crafter who got second place. He managed to make more walls in the inner city and rebuild most of the buildings that were broken during the attack," an elf who was in the elevator replied.

"That makes a lot of sense, actually. I remember there was this dude in a different rampage who got in the top 10 by just repairing things. He never even saw one of the monsters. By the way, did anyone else get two levels from all of this?" a dwarf added. 

People in the elevator continued to talk, and Hera just thanked them for not focusing on her. She was very tired, and her mind wasn't doing that well. She wasn't the only one, and most of her court also shared her irritability. All because of the Pool of Styx. Maintaining the spell still took a lot of her. Yet, she didn't think it was the best idea to drop it right now. People were still organizing things, and there should be healers still working. She decided to leave it for a few more hours and drop it before going to bed. 

"Did you level up too?" Vash asked in a soft voice, not to attract attention to them. He could tell the Ophidianite wasn't that comfortable in the spotlight.

"I did. I haven't put on my attributes yet, but I know what I'm doing." 

"Using that skill to increase all of them?" 

"Yep. I stuck with that build so far. No reason to stop it now. Besides, it makes my blades much more powerful."

"And spells like this one," Vash nodded, "You are level 40 now, right?" 

"Yeah. I remember you saying something about leveling up a couple of days ago. You are level 39, right?"

"40, actually. I got to 39 while we were killing the Monarch of the Glen."

"Really?" Hera frowned. She was 39 for a while already, but somehow, Vash was able to not just reach 39 but even pass it, "Do you have an exp increase skill or something?"

"No, why?" 

"I just think it's a bit weird…" Hera stopped to think for a moment. Her level was very close to her friends. Well, aside from Helena, who was a bit higher. But even then, she was already at a higher level when they met. Sure, that difference decreased considerably after some of the Empress' adventures, but eventually, they got close enough to fight together. However, that still didn't explain why she was leveling up slower now. Then again, now that she really thought about it, the last journey she did with her friends, after getting the legacy, they mostly leveled up by running dungeons that no one had run before. Another thing was that she would always be doing much more than them while leveling up at the same speed. Even if they were doing the same amount of dungeon runs, because of the court, her kill count was much higher. Maybe a drawback of her legacy was that now it would be harder for her to level up as if the experience was shared or reduced because of her court. The Empress always believed that the drawback of her legacy was just 'consuming' weapons, but considering everything she could do, it made sense that there was more to it. 

"What?" Vash asked after watching Hera think for a while. 

"I think I just realized that my legacy makes me level up slower. And the more blades I have, the slower it should be."

"But their help should offset that, right?" Vash tilted his head.

"Maybe, but I don't think so. Like, I was level 39 before we started everything, and I just got to 40 today." 

"I see..." Vash nodded, not knowing what to say about that. 

Hera decided just to finish her level up; she was going to wait to get the reward from the rampage in a more private place, just in case. 

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Hera Quetzaveth -- Role: Explorer Level: 40
Legacy: Court of Blades [Blades]
Title: Mana Touched, Wardbearer, Ophidianite Progenitor

Total Stats:  672
Strength:  112 Endurance: 112
Agility:  112 Charisma:  112
Intelligence: 112  Luck:  112

Mana:   5 659 021/5 659 021
Empress Core: 3 032 158/9 110 397
Passive Mana Regeneration: 7 640/s (13 751/s with items)
Active Mana Regeneration: 14 619/s   (26 314/s with items)
Empress Core Regeneration: 8/s  (14/s with items)

Remaining attribute points: 17

Skills:
Legacy:
Court Ruler, Courtship, Bestow Title, Army of One, Revocation of Nobility,
Royal Quest, Bestow Gift, Royal Seal, Venomous Arsenal, Blade Graveyard, Empress Core (+1)

Passive:
Exponential Growth (21)
Observe 3
Treasure Map
Handaxe Combat 3, Chakram Combat 3, Glaive Combat 3, Sword Combat 3, Two-handed Sword Combat 2,
Dagger Combat 3, Scimitar combat 1, Axe combat 1, War Axe Combat 1, Knife Combat 2, Tonfa Combat 2, Rapier Combat 1
Wire Trap Style 3, Subtle Strike 4, Dorohla Style 4
Battle Dancer 3, Attack Pathing 2, Synchronized Battle 3
Dodge 4, Run 4, Improved Stamina 5, Flee 2, Jump 2
Mana Recovery 5, Mana sensitivity 4 , Shaper of Mana 2 , Mana Vessel, Reinforced Mana 2
Improved Regeneration 3
Ailment Mastery 3, Poison Mastery 2, Allergy Mastery 1,  Chain Mastery 1, Regeneration Mastery 1,
Earth Mastery 1, Lightning Mastery 1, Sound Mastery 1, Frost Mastery 1, Lava Mastery 1, Steel Mastery 1
Elemental Mana Mastery
Earth resistance 2, Wind resistance 2, Water resistance 2, Sturdy Body 4,
Magic Armor Proficiency 3  
Nature connection 1
Silver Lining 2
Ancient language 5
Pathfinder 1 

Ophidianite Skills:

Ophidianite Scales 3, Ophidianite Poison 6, Ophidianite Vigor 1, Ophidianite Sight 1, Ophidianite Mana Sense 1, Ophidianite Resistance 1, Ophidianite Regeneration 1, Ophidianite Adaptation 1 

Active:
All in 2
Inspect 2
Hide 4, Sneak Attack 3
Weapon Maintenance 4, Weapons Rebalance 3, Weapon Break 2
Etching 4
Medical Reference 3, Identify Ailment 1
Green Thumb 2
Chain of Command 5
Poison Coating 3
Toxic Mist
Grasshopper Stab 1, Grasshopper Slash 1

Role Skills:
Local Guide
Private Room, Meeting Room
Explorer's Assassinate
Explorer's Map
Hunter's Catalogue, Explorer's Hunt
Explorer's Research
Explorer's Blueprint
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Unlike the previous level, Hera only got a single new skill this time, but she still got a decent amount of bonus points. 54 in total, which was enough to increase all her stats by 2. There wasn't anything else happening in the elevator, so Hera just started to reply to texts on her tablet. Everyone seemed to be doing well, and they were worried about her. Shane managed to increase her [Ophidianite Scales] skill to rank two and get [Ophidianite Vigor] and [Ophidianite Adaptation]. On the other hand, her dad got [Ophidianite Poison] and increased it to rank two already. 

The construction of the city in Zaxalam was going well, with the dwarven even starting to expand outside of the city. Making some farming fields, which was already part of the plan, and ranches to try to tame the monsters who lived there. After a long ride up, they eventually arrived back in the Core Spire and met up with the rest of the team. They were all happy for being ok, even if battered and bruised. Hera herself wasn't any better; she was covered in wounds and bruises and would likely have even more if her scales could change color when struck. 

They talked a bit and headed to the hotel to rest. Vazor asked them to drop by after resting since he and the other commanders wanted to thank them for their help. More specifically, they all wanted to thank Hera.

In the hotel, they got something to eat and showered, taking turns since they only had a single bathroom in their room. During this time, everyone got their final rewards. Neria ended up getting rank 87, likely due to the amount of healing she performed during the last part of the mission. The wendigo that went towards the waterfall used a very nasty combination of smoke attacks that could burn people's bodies from the inside. Her reward was a necklace called Ocean's Embrace. It increased the effectiveness of her healing spells, allowed her to create that calmed those who sensed it, and also made anyone affected by her healing spells temporally able to breathe underwater. It lasted only five minutes, but it was a nice benefit. 

Flint got rank 845 and got something called Adaptive Alloy Coating. It was a vial that he could apply to his armor to give a specific property. After applying it, his armor would get a temporary increase in defense against the last attack that hit it. This would last 10 minutes and could stack, meaning that the more he got hit by the same attack, the harder it would be to hurt him. However, if another type of attack hits him, the buff will reset and start counting from the start again. The good part was that the was a permanent effect. 

Skyler got something called Whisperwave Cloak for being at rank 695. They would stop most sound-based attacks and allow her to absorb any sound magic and recover her mana in the process. Roan got a skill in the form of an elixir. It was called 'Scent of the Wild,' and it would simply heighten his senses. The effect wasn't that great, but now he could see a bit farther away and detect more subtle smells. Despite it sounding underwhelming, the beastmen were incredibly happy with the result, saying that this could make some of his abilities even stronger since it was a baseline increase.

Vash got a music sheet. It was called 'Melody of the Phoenix.' In essence, it was a spell for him to learn. When singing or playing that melody, his allies would gain an increased regeneration of both mana and stamina. It would also help them heal smaller wounds by themselves. However, there was also an intricate dance attached to the sheet. He could perform any one of those versions of the melody for the effects to work. If he was able to sing and dance or play the instrument and sing at the same time, the effects would be increased. And if all three were performed to perfection at the same time by the same person, it would give something called a phoenix mote to all those affected by it. That would last for 24 hours, and if the person holding the mote was gravely injured, the mote would erupt into flames, healing the person and doubling the previous buff for a few minutes. 

Lastly was Hera's reward. 

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Forgotten Forge Passkey

Grants you access to the forgotten forge of the Forge Lord through a doorway. This won't count as one of your daily crossings. 

Inside the forge, you will be able to pick one item from the vaults and take it out with you. Once you enter the forge, you can only stay there for 10 minutes. If by the end of that time, you have not picked an item, you will receive a random item and be kicked out of the forge.
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Looking at that, the idea seemed great. But she was too tired to think about what she might want. 

Everyone went to bed, hoping to stay here for a few days, resting in the hotel. However, by the time they woke up, Milla had already sent a text, "The prison mission will start in two days. If you leave now, you can still make it!"