บท 800: The last day of a rampage
After Hera finished the spell, there wasn't a massive change in what was happening with her team. Even if they did get a decent buff to their attributes, occasionally, some of the monsters would trip over another, but that was it. Still, the buff they got was somewhat decent.
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Hera Quetzaveth -- Role: Explorer
Level: 39
Legacy: Court of Blades.
Title: Mana Touched, Wardbearer, Ophidianite Progenitor
Total Stats: 660(+127)
Strength: 110 (+12) Endurance: 110 (+1)
Agility: 110(+29) Charisma: 110 (+33)
Intelligence: 110(+1) Luck: 110 (+51)
Mana: 5 275 321/ 5 275 321
Empress Core: 6 500 189/8 753 111
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The buff she got was pretty significant, even if she got the biggest overall buff on the team. As usual, her court wasn't affected by it, but the titled blades would get some benefits. Aside from that, there were no big events during that day of fighting. No big monsters appeared, and every single creature was considerably weaker. If they were not slower or physically lacking, their reflexes seemed to be all over the place. The rampage became considerably easier. It was still a dangerous situation, and there were moments where the sheer amount of creatures was a lot to deal with, but things had improved somewhat.
As they left, the people who took over seemed worried but also happy somehow. Hera didn't bother asking about it. For some reason, she was feeling very tired.
'Did I get hit by something?' Hera asked her court. Maybe she had missed something. A monster might have struck her with some kind of poison or ailment that forced her to be like that.
'N-n-n-no, Empress. Not anything that you didn't notice, at least,' Dusa replied.
The Ophidianite closed her eyes as she walked, having Dusa guide her along. Hera did her best to focus her senses, trying to see what could be happening with her. She couldn't feel much out of the ordinary, but eventually, she realized one thing was out of place. Or at least one thing that was a bit different than she expected. She could still feel the Pool of Styx in effect, which was supposed to be the case, but also there was something else. A connection with the spell circle that was tugging at the back of her mind.
Still, it didn't sound like the worst situation. Besides, the spell seemed to be helping a considerable amount. Just as the team returned to Cora Spire itself, Sapphira sent Hera a message, thanking her for the spell and telling them what happened during this shift.
An army of monsters arrived in the city, and they started their siege very intelligently, even including using a siege weapon. This forced the command to do one of the things they didn't want to do. Break apart a part of the spire to use it to kill a large number of monsters. However, doing so created a large opening in the center of the spire, a place that monsters could use to enter and invade the city. Even if it was a far-away opening, the amount of mana inside would leak out and lure the creatures, even during a rampage. However, after the Pool Of Styx started, things changed, and people were able to fight back pretty well. They were also tracking how many attribute points, and it averaged at around 100 points per person. Some got smaller buffs, but some also got bigger ones. Sapphira also apologized for her previous behavior and offered to help Hera spread that spell to other cities.
Hera just rolled her eyes and typed, 'I appreciate the offer, but first, I need to be sure that giving this spell to others will be safe. If I can't confirm that, then I won't share it with anyone. And we both know you took pictures or saved the design to try to replicate it. I just hope that you understand why I'm worried and don't do anything rash.'
The Empress thought this would be it. Sapphira wouldn't give any answer. Yet, to her surprise, the woman replied in just a few moments, 'We are not the guild. You asked us not to share this, so we won't. Not to say we won't have people trying to come up with similar spells, but even if we do, we will be making our own version from scratch.'
With a shrug, Hera continued walking with her team. They were already exhausted again, and all they wanted was to rest. The next few days were much similar. With the Pool of Styx in effect, everyone seemed to be less tired at the end of the day, but even with that help, the situation was slowly deteriorating. This was a battle of attrition, and if it lasted for too much longer. They would lose. For the Empress team, things got slightly easier on the 6th day of the rampage since Nimbus was able to return to the fold. However, Hera was irritable. She hasn't had a single decent night of rest ever since casting the Pool of Styx. It was like a part of her mind was forced to stay awake. That being said, it wasn't like she was sleep-deprived or anything of the sort. When fighting, she could focus on her surroundings and avoid making mistakes, just like the rest of the team. Her mood was the only thing affected by this effect. Or at least that happened at first. After the third day, the Ophidianite became more prone to make mistakes, and so did her court, which revealed another aspect of the spell. The reason why she was able to keep the Pool of Styx up nonstop was her legacy. She would share the mental burden with her court, allowing each of the blades to take a bit of the effort of casting and maintaining the spell. Being snippy had the side effect of giving the Empress a bit of a reputation. Everyone knew that if they wanted to ask something of the Ophidianite, they couldn't come up with dumb or obvious questions; otherwise, they would get just a cold stare as a reply. There was even a small group of people who seemed to enjoy that kind of thing and would show up to ask her nonsensical or very personal questions. But, after Livy and Viper stepped in, threatening to cut off people's tongues, those questions stopped.
There was one more thing that changed during the last few days. It seemed like Hera was getting credited with a large number of kills. More than what her team was facing. Her tally was going up even when she was resting or sleeping. It was also clear that she wasn't getting credit for all of the kills happening under the pool of Styx, but by Vazor's estimate, she should be getting around 1 in a thousand.
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Monster Rampage - Core Spire
Protect the city from the waves of monsters that will attack the settlements. Any damage to the structures of the room will be deducted from the basic reward.
Rewards: 250 000 gold
Killing a monster will give you increased rewards based on the type of monster.
Cloudwing Striker - 215
Magma Construct - 52
Void Weaver - 32
Gloom Bat - 993
Cloud Serpent - 8
Magma Crawler - 83
Ember Wyvern - 4
Ash Gremlin - 165
Soot Golem - 79
Magma Spider - 553
Whispering Crystal - 72
Ash Reaver - 58
Molten Elemental - 5
Smoke Weaver - 33
Cinder Hound - 104
Forge Magma - 2
Sky Leaver - 12
Skystone Watcher - 1
Ember Garuda - 2
Forge Lord - 0
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Hera was getting around 30% more kills than the rest of her team. When the 7th day came, the sky turned red, signaling the last day of the rampage. At the same time, the entire room received a quest depending on their location.
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Rampage Quest - Region - Core Spire
Don't stop the flow.
A group of monsters, led by a wendigo, is marching towards the top of the spire in order to stop the flow of magma that streams all the way to the volcano. If they are able to do so, eventually, the pressure will be so strong that it will burst open, creating more sources for the flow of magma and destroying the spire.
Stop the monsters in order to complete the quest. When all regions complete their quests, the rampage will end.
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This was odd not just because a wendigo was leading this group, but there was even a mention of how the rampage would end after the last. Hera remembered Brinnefront and Boothudurn, and neither place had this kind of phrasing.
"We should go," Skyler stood up from her bed. They were all resting in their room now before their shift.
"Yeah. The sooner we finish this, the better," Flint nodded.
"I agr-" before Hera could finish her phrase, her tablet rang. It was a call from Vazor, "Hello?"
The dwarf appeared on the screen, "Hera. How many people in your team can fly?"
"Just Vash. Well, I have a way, too, but it's more of a mount. Why?" the Empress replied.
"And yours, is it permanent? Or temporary?"
"Permanent while the mount is in one piece."
"OK, you and Vash will need to head down to the Hearthome. The rest of your team can come to the command center. We are getting every person available in order to protect the top. We have already had a couple of teams up there since the start of the rampage. They can hold down the fort until the rest of you arrive," Vazor explained.
"What about the quest?" Vash asked. He knew that the final quest had a different type of reward.
"If you move to a different region, you will receive the new quest. Don't worry about it," Vazor continued, "The army that was attacking Hearthome is still there, and their quest is different. We need to protect the current Forge Lord from the next one. The problem is that the Forge Lord can't deal with flying creatures very well, and no one can approach them unless they are flying.
Hera glanced at Vash, "Are you up for this?"
"We are flying above a volcano, right? Do you have a way to protect us from the heat? And to let us breathe without worrying?"
Vazor nodded, "Yeah, for both questions. Usually, when we are going to fight the Forge Lord, we do it like this. We get a team of flying attacks and strikes from above. We have around 50 sets of gear made exactly to protect someone from the heat and let them breathe during a fight like that."
Vash stood up, "OK them. Let's go. Do we have a path going down, or should we just drop from the side of the spire?"
"Your call. Dropping will be faster but more dangerous. We have the elevator that will take about half an hour."
"Let's get the elevator," Hera replied, "No reason to risk ourselves like this."
"Yeah," Vash nodded as everyone quickly got ready.
They walked together to the command center, but the Ophidinaite and the Harpy split off to go to the Hearthome.
"Be careful," Neria asked the two who were going on their own.
"I know you have more numbers than we do, but still, try not to get hit," Flint added.
"Also, watch out for the obsidian shards. If they are going after the Forge Lord, I wouldn't doubt they had some Skystone Watchers in the group," Skyler added.
"Be careful, too; you remember how there were a few monsters missing from the rampage? Those are the ones who should be going to the top, so you won't have the experience of fighting against them, " Hera replied.
"You all be safe. We'll have a drink when this is over," Roan cheered with an invisible mug.
"Yeah, and I would love to find a hotel with a pool. Seriously, all this ash is messing up my feathers," Vash patted himself down, sending a small plume of smoke away from his body even if it hadn't been that long since he had taken a shower.
They didn't say anything else and continued their paths. One way or another, this was the last day of the rampage.
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