บท 507: Group Meeting
All the Royal Explorers arrived by dinner time. Hera took a moment to talk to everyone individually to ask about how things went and to apologize for vanishing. She explained the reason why she went into the dungeon, and almost all of the dwarves seemed to be okay with this. The only one who complained about her way of doing things was Callena. She was a controller who used to assist the palace with some of the bureaucracy in Boothudurn. After the room was opened, she became infatuated with the idea of traveling and seeing different places. Surprisingly, she also was at a considerably high level, at least for the dwarves, being level 35 at the age of 102. However, her issue lies with the lack of structure that Hera was showing. Despite all the talk about things being predictable and how going to new rooms could throw them into unique situations every day, Callena was too used to the idea of doing things the proper way.
Hera sat down with her and explained that this was exactly the reason why she did what she did. She knew that despite her best efforts, the classes were organized, and there wasn't any unexpected situation thrown at them, not really.
"But Hera, what should we do in a situation like this? What if we have questions or problems that we need help with?" Callena asked after
"If the situation is like this, you can ask the other teams for help. If they are not available, you can talk to other people in the room. If there's no one to help you, you have to figure things out yourself. I know it sounds scary, and I know that you're going to be afraid of making mistakes. But it's okay to make those mistakes. Exploration is not just about finding what we need to find, but also about confirming that what we are looking for is not in a certain place," Hera explained as the two of them had dinner together. Callena was feeling frustrated, but when Hera was getting the reports, she wanted to make sure no one was injured or that something required her immediate attention. When she confirmed that everything was ok, she called Callena back so they could have a proper conversation.
"But I want to be a good explorer... I don't want to be a failure. I know I'm on the old side, and you only accepted me because of my level," Callena sighed.
"Who said that? Your level had very little to do with why I picked you," Hera stopped eating and crossed her arms, " Why do you think that?"
"Because I had a desk job. I never focused too much on my combat skills or spells, and I am the definition of someone who should live inside four walls. I mean, look at me," Callena gestured to her clothes that still followed a stern librarian vibe. She wore a long black skirt with a cut on the side and a long-sleeved dark yellow blouse with a black jacket on top. Right now, she was still using a pair of black leather pants that looked more like stockings than anything else and a pair of high heels that she changed after getting back. Unlike almost all women Hera knew, Callena felt more comfortable in heels than in flat shoes.
Hearing that, Hera couldn't help but chuckle, which only made Callena more annoyed, "Sorry, I'm not laughing at you. Do you know what I did before I became an explorer? I worked in a bookstore and was pretty much the definition of a wallflower and a pushover. People used to walk all over me. I mean, I once went on a date with a guy who forgot he had asked me out and showed up at the same place with someone else. So trust me when I say working in an office, or a palace, in your case, has nothing to do with your ability to be an explorer. Also, there isn't such a thing as not finding anything. You always discover something," Hera pulled her tablet and showed a map of the room she was working on. Several green marks were showing safe paths, and there were some red marks in areas where they had already searched for the doorway, "Look, in just four days, you guys already narrowed down the location of the doorway by a lot. Sure the room is still massive, and we have to find how to get to this area," Hera pointed at the other corner of the room, "But still, by not finding the doorway, you have found places where we don't have to waste time and resources to search again."
"So… not finding something makes me a good explorer?" Callena asked with a confused expression.
"Not really. But it is a step in the right direction. What will make you a good Explorer is experience. And the reason why I accepted you into the group is that I saw the same kind of spark that I had. The same idea of 'I want to go out and find something.' I want to stop on top of a mountain and look at a desert made out of rubies or a forest made out of candy. That's the reason why I accepted you," Hera noticed that Callena was surprised by that comment and ate a few mouthfuls of the giant spider barbecue that was in front of her. When she figured she had given enough time to the controller, she continued, " That being said, I don't want you to feel pressured about this. I never picture you as my substitute or something like that. It's way too early to even consider those possibilities. And I don't want you to think that you have to accomplish something big. Most of all, I just want you guys to be happy and enjoy what you're doing. If at any point you figure this is not for you, let me know, and I will take you back to Boothudurn, where you can find something else to do. Or if you want to stay in a room, just say the word. But may I give you some advice?"
Callena nodded, "I would appreciate it."
"Try to see exploring the same way you see going out and looking for someone to hook up. I've seen you and Farica on the prowl, and damn, you two go for the throat. I mean, what was that line you used during the graduation party to leave with that new guard? 'You have a choice, keep playing the game, hoping that one of the girls here will remember you tomorrow, or follow me as I walk out.'"
Callena chuckled, "I didn't know you were watching. Did you like that one?"
"Of course I did. I wish I had the confidence to do something like that," Hera laughed and went for a drink but ended up choking on the soda, "See. You can't be clumsy and confident."
"I'm sure you can. If you want, we can give you some pointers," Callena smiled.
"I would like that. But for now, let's focus on what we are doing. And Callena, I promise I won't kick anyone out for not finding anything. Besides, this is not your forte, and that's fine. Wait until we have to do some research. You will feel right at home," Hera chuckled.
Callena smiled before going back to her meal. She was happy to have brought up her issues with Hera. Not that the countess had completely solved the problem, but at least the researcher had a renewed resolve to continue pushing forward. Hera knew how hard it was to maintain a good mentality while searching for something. During the time she was trying to find the blademasters, there were several times when she felt stuck and almost gave up. Still, the leader of the Royal Explorers wanted to keep morale up, she had even read a lot about how to do that, and this was the first time she put that knowledge to use.
After dinner, everyone gathered in the tent used for big announcements. Hera greeted everyone and stopped at Alex, who was the last one, "Hey. I just want to make sure you are ok. I really thought he had talked to you about it, and I just vanished after I dropped that bomb on you," Hera was talking about Adriel. Before they left Boothudurn, the man asked Hera if any jobs would require him to travel back and forth between rooms. He said that he wasn't too keen on exploring the room and would rather do what he knew how to do instead of just being dead weight for the group. Harris suggested that he would provide supplies for the group and that they would have Trilian and Legan, the two kids who were still 17 but wanted to be part of the Royal Explorers, talking with the different people in the rooms between the Wailing Valley and Boothudurn to secure the items he would get. Even if Rutigan was taking care of all the bills for the organization, Hera wanted them to be proficient in negotiation and work within a budget. So, they would have a limit on their spending to supply the items they might need, which were mostly food and other daily necessities, and any travel costs for Adriel. Those kids also had another job, to search the internet for any mentions of lost or ancient Dwarven cities.
"I'm fine. Really. I know we've been hanging out a lot, but it's not like we need to stay together all the time. And don't worry about you just Vanishing right away. I understand why you did that, and that's fine," Alex replied with a shrug.
"Really? You are not mad at me?"
"Not one bit. If anything, I'm thankful. This made me realize that I go too hard in relationships and should be a bit slower in the beginning."
Hera nodded and thanked Alex for not being angry. The assassin replied by simply rolling her eyes. If their friendship was something that could have problems because of something like that, they wouldn't have lasted so long together in the MAZE. With that out of the way, the leader of the Royal Explorers went to the front of the group and started speaking.
"Okay, everyone, I have some possibly interesting news. Oh, but first," Hera snapped her fingers and created a large dome around everyone using her soundproof spell, " you guys don't have to worry about it. It's just so this conversation stays between us. You will soon understand why. There's a dungeon in this room called Eternal Bond. It's about a group of Naga who are building a temple and the snake that is one of the Naga's partners. I was the one who found this dungeon a few days before I got Daskka. I think you all know this, but when you are the first person to ever complete the dungeon, one of the rewards will always be a level up. That is also true for the hard mode of the dungeon. So technically, every dungeon can give us two level-ups. One for the first person who ever completed and another for the first person who ever completes the hard mode."
"But isn't it hard to find the hard mode? I mean, aside from the Wooly Plains, the ones in Boothudurn have some very specific conditions," Yerel, a healer with silver eyes and very long dark brown hair that went up to his chest, asked. The dwarf had a boyish build, although he was more stocky than humans and wore a mismatched armor set. He picked those pieces of gear himself, focusing more on the attributes and skills they could provide.
"It is. Dungeons are either something that the MAZE created as a representation of events in that area, or some random nonsense that the MAZE created by itself. The hard mode is a what-if situation. Using the Wooly Plains as an example, you can think of it as what if the griffon continued to grow their numbers and killed every single sheep on the plains. For the sky ruler nest is what if someone else came to get the title of 'Sky Ruler,'" Hera continued.
"What about the Weeding Disaster? Isn't the hard mode also about past events?"
Hera nodded, "Yeah. That is a rare case. Because it was such a big event that we are assuming caused the destruction of an entire room, and there was another big event leading up to it, the dungeon was split. Then again, some of the details might be wrong. That might be a different possible scenario where the room was destroyed. Since we don't have any records of what actually happened, we can only assume that the dungeon was telling the truth. If we ever find more people from Kul Dorul, we might have some answers, but until then, we have no way of knowing. Either way, back to the main point. I have found a way to trigger the hard mode in the dungeon here. And, as far as we know, I'm the first person who managed to do that."
The Royal Explorers started clapping, praising their leader. Hera couldn't help but smile, "Ok, guys. Thank you, but I'm not done. I found a way to trigger the hard mode, but I haven't done it just yet. The plan is for all of you to unlock the hard mode so we can all go there together. Also, Shane wanted to join us, so I wanted to put it to a vote. Are you guys ok with having her join us for the first time completion of the dungeon? This is not mandatory, by the way. If anyone is not comfortable with the idea of doing a dungeon that was never seen by anyone else, you can sit this one out."
Rayna raised her hand, "Can everyone join the dungeon?"
Hera nodded, "Yeah. I checked earlier, and it doesn't say anything about a limit to the number of people who can enter. This means that as long as we are all in the same party, we shouldn't have any problems."
"Is there any downside to going in a big group?" Rayna continued.
"The items probably. Not the first-time rewards. Those should be dependent on our performance there. The overall loot is the problem. Since we are going with a bigger group, if we make like, 20 thousand gold, we are going to end up with just a bit over a thousand each."
"Excuse me. I'm confused about one thing," everyone turned to Bertrand, who started speaking, "If there are no actual limits for dungeons like that. Why don't people gather in large groups to increase their strength?"
"That's a hard thing to answer. I know that some people call large groups to help them level up, but that's unusual. What happens is, when you find a new dungeon or a hard mode, you get a bit paranoid about somebody else finding the same thing after you. So if you are going to gather a large group, they need to be close by, or you might risk losing what you found. If I'm being honest, if it wasn't for the actual conditions to trigger the hard mode, I would be worried that someone else would find it before us. But there are some circumstances that put me at ease," Bertrand nodded, understanding the Countess' explanation, "Before I start going to specifics on how we're going to do this. How about a vote to know if Shane is coming or not? Those who agree, raise your hands. I'll say that we need at least 10 votes to allow her to join just so we can have a majority vote."
Hera raised her hand, and so did everyone else. As a unanimous decision, Shane was going to join them in the hard mode.
"I'll call her over. She was waiting outside," Mylo said and left the tent. In less than a minute, he returned with Shane. Hera smiled and started explaining how everyone was going in together to unlock the hard mode. She and Shane had decided to put their talk with Darni on hold, fearing that someone else would swoop in and steal the first-time rewards for the hard mode.
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