บท 373: Outburst
Hera had to read the notification a few times to understand what was going on. She now had a piece of Chika on her necklace? This felt odd, not to mention that this was an unique item and one with its own ego. She had only heard about ego items in passing. They were supposed to have their own minds in a way, but she never quite understood how that worked. Curious about the situation, she put some of her mana inside Daskka's… pendant? Home? Vivarium? She couldn't quite figure out the best word to describe it.
A small snake appeared in a plume of mist. She was white with blue stripes that would spiral along her body, almost like a candy cane. One of her eyes was green and the other was silver. Those eyes were unmistakable. Daskka might as well be Chika's child. Hera thought about giving the creature a hug but hesitated, unsure if the construct would feel comfortable doing that. Unexpectedly, Daskka seemed to understand what her owner asked and went in for the hug. It was weird to think of that as a hug since the snake could fit entirely on Hera's palm, but even so, this was much more than what the explorer expected and something she really needed. She started crying again and was comforted by this creature that wasn't even a minute old. Soon Blue walked inside the tent and noticed what was going on. She waited, seeing that the snake seemed to be important to Hera, and a few minutes later, the two humans talked.
It was tough to explain everything that was going on to Blue, but Hera did her best. Blue didn't say a thing and just sat by the explorer, joining in on the hug. Alex walked inside and saw the two. Seeing Hera's face, she decided to be a part of that moment even without knowing exactly what was happening.
Sometime later, Hera stopped crying and was feeling better. Alex managed to silently ask Blue what was going on and received a quick reply. Understanding that the explorer had just lost her grandmother, they stood there. Leo wasn't able to get the same information, but he managed to read the room and just grabbed the girls some breakfast. They ate, and when Hera was sufficiently calm, Leo joined in the tent. Hera talked about her grandmother to Leo one more time, explaining that she had to go back home.
"I'm sorry about doing this, Leo. I know you wanted to keep getting stronger," Hera said.
"What? No, shut up. This is more important. You don't even have to think about apologizing. I'm just thinking if we have a way to take you there faster."
"I mean, I could probably get in the forest of dreams kind of quickly if I called Nimbus. But the rest of the track wouldn't be much different," Hera sighed, "Besides, going alone would probably make me find more trouble. I seem to be a magnet for bad things."
"That's not true," Blue replied but then stopped to think for a moment, "I mean… maybe a little bit."
"You do have a knack to fall and find something interesting," Alex added.
"Did you just make a joke about falling?" Blue gasped, knowing how guilty the assassin still felt about what happened in the Kobold Battlefield.
A commotion started outside, and Leo went to check it out. Soon, they heard someone else's voice.
"Glad to be here, and don't worry, that snake is gone for good. I made sure of it. It was a vicious son of a bitch, but humanity will always prevail," the voice proudly announced.
Hera got up and stomped her foot while going outside.
"Hera! Hera, no. Stop!" Blue tried to grab her as she noticed the expression on the explorer's face.
In the middle of the camp, there was a man clad in silver armor with a thin mustache and a pompadour with the sides of his head shaved, "You are all very welcome by the help. I'm just a simple fighter trying to help my fellow man," he noticed Hera's brisk walk heading towards him, "Ah, yes. I would never deny a beautiful woman a hug of thanks. Come, come," the man opened his arms and waited for her.
For a moment, Hera considered attacking him with her weapons, but there was still some sense in her mind. Instead, she slapped his face with all her strength. Even her [All In] triggered, but it was just like trying to hit an anvil. Her hand was the only thing that actually hurt, while not even the man's hair moved because of the impact.
"Fuck! Of course, it had to be a thick-skulled tin man," Hera yelled in pain.
"I gotta say. Getting a slap as thanks is new to me. Thank you, I guess. But I'm not into that," the man wasn't even fazed with the reaction.
"Who the fuck is thanking you?" Hera barked.
"Well, even if you are the ungrateful one, the rest of the people here are not."
"Why the fuck would I be grateful? You killed Chika! She wasn't going to hurt anyone. She saved me when I fell in that hole."
"It's more like a ditch, not a hole," Blue mumbled, but Hera stared daggers at her.
"Oh, you are the one who fell? Glad you are back. Although I never heard of someone getting Stockholm Syndrome so quickly. Also, that snake killed two of my friends, don't give me that crap about 'she wasn't going to hurt anyone.' It was a monster, and we had to kill it. Plain and simple," the man replied.
"Did she attack you first?" Hera asked, trying very hard to give him the benefit of the doubt.
"No, we weren't going to let it attack first. Why would we?"
"Because she would never attack, fuck head! She was like a puppy, a puppy who was alone and just wanted some love and caring. Not to be attacked by some asshole who painted on a mustache just to say that he's a big boy now," there was a part of Hera's mind yelling at her to stop. If this man killed Chika, even as a group, he could swat her like a fly.
The man stared at Hera with a serious expression, "Look, this already stopped being funny. That was a deadly bloodthirsty monster, and we killed it. You were the one who got lost, and your vitals yesterday freaked the guild out. They thought you were being tortured or something. If that was the case, we weren't about to let another monster capable of keeping hostages and torturing them run around. The last time we let a monster do that started the fucking devil hunt. We are not letting that happen again. I only came here to let your group know that it was safe. We didn't come yesterday because we were all fucked. You're welcome. Besides, you were the one who got kidnapped by it. Who knows if it was just keeping you alive so it could eat you later."
"Bloodthirsty?! Kidnapped?" Hera could feel a vein throbbing on her neck, "Tell you what. Jump down the abyss, look for her nest. There is a dungeon there. Go do it, and then come tell me that she was a bloodthirsty monster. You are just an asshole who wants to make a quick buck. Why not go to the animal shelter to put them down. That seems right up your alley."
Blue pulled Hera away from the conversation before things got even worse. Along with Alex, they dragged the explorer back to the tent so they could grab their stuff and go back. She went through an emotional roller coaster in the last few days, and it showed. While that was going on, Leo went to talk to the man.
"Look, I'm sorry for her. She just got back, the dungeon messed with her, and she had some personal bad news. It was just a lot, and she's lashing out. Also, do you mind explaining what you mean about the devil hunt?"
The man scoffed, "Yeah, don't worry about it. It's not like she could even do anything to me. Just do me a favor and hold her back next time. Not everyone is as patient and magnanimous as I am. About the devil hunt. I guess you are too green to know that, but one of the first signs that the monsters were more than what they seemed was that people were being kidnapped. The devils took humans and other races to their nests and started experimenting, trying to figure out the best way to kill or control us. Now, if a monster is ever suspected of doing the same, we kill it before it can start doing more damage."
That line made Leo worried and he started to consider if that was really the case. Since no one else was talking, the man felt like he had won the argument and left the camp, heading back to his group. Hera and her party waited for another half an hour before heading out. The last thing they wanted was to end up having to accompany that guy back to the outpost.
Shane thanked Hera for everything she found and let her know that she would send any new information she discovered to her. Hera also asked for the information they found in the tombs now. Despite not being her focus, she was even more curious about the Naga after the dungeon. They passed by Chika's head, which was in the process of being harvested by the people of the guild. This also meant that a few teams made sure that no monster would eat the snake's body. Even the parts that were deep in the chasm. Hera almost threw up again when she saw the decapitated head, but she managed to hold on. During all this time, Daskka was inside the necklace. Chika was the only snake in the room, and if Hera appeared with a snake that was similar to it, it could raise questions that she wasn't in the mood to answer. Even more worrying was the idea that someone could try to force her to sell the necklace or try to take it away from her. She wasn't sure if anyone would actually do that, but just the idea of it was enough to make her paranoid.
It took them two days to go back to Boothudurn. Hera let her dad know that she was going back but that she would spend a day in her house to rest and gather her thoughts. She spent most of the day with Silah, Helena, and her friends. They were hanging out, but Hera felt like she was just there. Even when someone asked her a question, her reply was mechanical at times, or it wouldn't even make sense. Since no one had talked to the king about Hera's situation, he and Fethy asked to talk to her.
Hera ended up accepting that since it would be something to distract her from everything. The nobles went to her house, and when they arrived, Silah and Blue insisted that they stay with Hera during the conversation.
"So, do you mind telling us where you find that emblem?" Fethy asked.
Hera and Blue explained what happened and how they met Finlay, they also added the news about the mural in the Spirit's Plea dungeon. When they were done with their story, Rutigan had a concerned expression.
"What are you thinking about, my king?" Fethy turned to the man.
"I don't know what to think about it. If more people survived that fire, then… What if they are the nobles of Kul Dorul? Would they want to rule over us too?" Rutigan explained.
"I understand your worry, and even if I agree. I don't think you have to worry about that now. No one has found any clues about where the rest of the dwarves from Kul Dorul are, and even in the forest of dreams, I haven't heard anything about people finding ruins," Hera added.
"Thank you for the advice, but that still is something that I should be considering. At least, until we have a definitive answer of what happened with them," Rutigan sighed.
"It is a good plan. And I'll help you with everything I can, my king," Fethy turned to him, comforting her ruler before turning back to Hera, "Now, can I see the crest?"
"Sure," Hera pulled the crest from her bag and passed it to Fethy.
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You have completed the quest Lost Family
Explorer exclusive quest
You delivered the crest to one of Finlay's descendants.
Rewards:
Powerful Connections Skill ( Explorer exclusive)
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Powerful Connections
Explorer Exclusive Skill
Explorer exclusive skills are more powerful based on your [Treasure Map]'s completion rate of the room you are currently in.
Current Room: Boothudurn Peaks
Completion rate: 73%
Explorer exclusive skills bonus: 18%
50% completion rate achieved, a random skill will be selected to be affected by this bonus when you are in this room.
Random skill selected: [Silver lining]
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"Oh… it seems like you are Finlay's descendant Fethy," Hera explained the quest she got and what she had to do to complete it.
"Indeed I am. This is my family crest. It's not something many of us do here since we felt like this could bring back the old noble system and hurt some people. This knowledge is only available to me and the king, because of our positions. Well, that was it at first. The first generation that came to Boothudurn didn't want to split the people like it was before, and the crests became something unimportant. However, as a Dutches of culture, It is my responsibility to give each house their own crest even if they didn't use it," Fethy was staring at the crest with a smile on her face.
"Speaking of which, are you free tomorrow? I want to have a meeting with the entire council to talk about this," Rutigan asked.
"I'm not. I need to go home for a while," Hera replied.
"Can't you delay your return just for a day?" the king pressed.
"No, she can't," Blue shot him down quickly, but Hera just placed a hand on her shoulder, giving the controller a weak smile.
"My grandmother passed away a couple of days ago. I'm sorry, Rutigan, but I need to be with my dad."
"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that. Of course, do you need anything?"
"A spell that can bring someone back to life?" Hera chuckled.
"My king. Can we offer a place in the mural?" Fethy asked.
"But of course! That is a great idea."
"Mural?" Hera asked.
"It's our version of a graveyard. We don't have that much space here, so instead of having a large area where we bury those who are no longer here, we write their names in the mural and place one of their belongings inside the stone," Silah explained while holding Hera's hand.
"We may not know your grandmother personally, but you are one of us. If you want to, we would be happy to have her name amongst those we remember," Rutigan said.
Hera felt tears forming on the corner of her eyes, "That would be lovely. Is it OK if I bring something later?"
"Of course, do that at your own time," Fethy replied.
Seeing that the explorer needed time, the council members left the house and left Hera and her friends alone. On the following day, Hera went directly outside the MAZE ignoring the three doorway rule and headed straight back to her grandmother's house where her father was waiting for her. Hera would have to be busy for a while. There were several things that needed to be done, from managing Triss' belongings to cremating her body and all the bureaucracy associated with someone's death. However, for now, Hera just embraced her father. The only thing that mattered was to make sure her dad was OK.
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