"Ogryn, for the mountain's sake. I don't want to have to carry you all the way up," Naka sighed.
"Nonsense, child, no one will need to carry me. I'm more than capable of walking these steps on my own," Ogryn replied as he walked inside the side tunnel.
"There are no steps. It's just a bunch of rocks going up."
"Semantics, I can get up there very well on my own. I may be old, but I'm more than capable of moving around."
"Moving around is one thing. But, this is a long hike, and we don't even know how long it will take for the humans to do whatever they want inside the nest. We might wait for hours before coming back," Naka tried once more to convince the elderly mage to stay behind.
"More reason why we should stop this meaningless squabble and head up the path," Ogryin said.
"Are you really going to keep talking like that?" Naka rolled her eyes.
"It was you, my child, who revealed to me I should act in an appropriate manner for my age. Therefore, I shall do so."
"Ok, fine. You can come, but please stop talking like that. Figuring out what you are trying to say is giving me a headache."
"Very well. Then, are all of you ready to head up?" Ogryn turned to the rest of the group.
They were inside one tunnel on the top of the mines. There was a stone door with warnings letting people know that the cave's structure beyond that point was unstable, and their surveys revealed that there was nothing in that area. This was just an excuse to keep people away. In reality, after that door, there was another hidden path that headed to yet another hidden path until finally reaching the point where Naka found Hera and the others during the previous night.
Hera understood why the secrecy. If even touching the barrier was enough to injure Naka, it would rip most of the other dwarves to pieces. But, on the other hand, it felt excessive. It was one thing to make a hidden path, but this was worse than a Russian nesting doll. Considering how the dwarves acted with rules, there was not a single doubt in her mind that just by saying 'don't go there,' they could stop anyone from coming to this path. Her mind wandered, and she started thinking about the people walking up towards the nest. It was supposed to be just her, Blue, and Silah. Now they had Naka, Ogryn, Pyrrick, who got worried about his buff running out too soon and insisted on going as close to the entrance as possible. And Sevaris, who saw the group walking over and thought it was something about the dungeons and followed the group to the mines.
It was weird that Naka barely tried to talk him out of going with them. She seemed more interested in getting up to the nest than anything else. She kept hurrying them along, saying she wanted to get this over with soon. But if that was the case, why did she argue with Ogryn about him staying back.
"Hera? What's wrong? You seem worried," Silah noticed the expression on the human's face.
"Sorry. I'm just trying to figure some things out," Hera replied.
"Like what?"
"Why is the captain in such a hurry to get us up there? I mean, I know she said she wants to get this over with, but doesn't it look like it's more than just that?"
"I was thinking about that too. The way she's complaining reminds me of Bonnie and how she keeps nagging when she's trying to pretend not to be interested in whatever stupid thing we want to do," Blue added.
"We are in a small tunnel, and your voice echoes. But please don't let this stop you from talking behind my back," Naka kept her gaze on the path ahead.
"In this situation, anything we say would be behind your back," Ogryn replied with a smirk, "Besides. You can't blame them for their curiosity. I assume you haven't talked about what happened."
"Silence, Ogryn! You made a vow," Naka turned around and stopped the entire group.
"I won't say a thing. But you really should," Ogryn replied.
Naka huffed and returned to their hike. Hera asked the rest of the team, but no one knew what they were talking about. After 40 minutes, they finally arrived at the entrance of the nest. Naka showed what happened with her light spell again to warn the dwarves not to get too close. While doing that, Pyrrick buffed the humans. It should last for at least half an hour, considering the amount of mana he used. Ogryn did the same thing, but his spell would affect only their weapons. Now they were covered in a small layer of sand made of mana. According to the research made inside their tower, sand mana was the natural enemy of cloud mana since it would absorb the moisture in the air, turning the cloud into wind. Most people could still use the wind mana to fuel any cloud spell, but their magic wouldn't be as strong as before.
He also added that if they hit a cloud spell with their weapons, there was a chance that it would be enough to disrupt the mana to the point of interrupting the spell. Hera and Blue thanked the mages and started walking towards the mist.
"Wait!" Silah rushed towards Hera and gave a kiss.
"Oh, my," Ogryin gasped before turning around to give the two some privacy. The other dwarves did the same, mumbling something about Silah not even giving them a warning.
"What was that?" Hera smiled after the kiss.
"A good luck charm," Silah replied.
"Well, I do feel lucky right now," Hera chuckled.
"Come back, and you might get even luckier tonight," Silah winked at Hera.
"For the mountain's sake! We can all hear you, Silah!" Sevaris gasped, making the blacksmith instantly turn red.
"Sorry, guys," Hera wasn't much of a fan of public displays of affection, but this seemed so minor in comparison with what other people would do.
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"Not to say how you should live your lives. But you might want to get used to this type of thing soon. After we connect the city and where we came from, seeing people kiss might be common," Blue added.
Wanting to escape that awkward situation, Hera rushed towards the mist, pulling Blue by her side. The two entered the fog, and they could feel the wind rotating around them, but it wasn't even strong enough to be annoying. They walked for only a few seconds before the mist subsided, revealing a snow-covered scenario. Unlike what Hera expected, it wasn't the actual peak, but a small plateau surrounded by the snow-covered ridges of the mountain. Looking around, they could see a couple of odd snow formations that seemed to be small nests of some sort. The area was surprisingly bright, even though it was night. There was a full moon in the sky that basked the entire area in its pale light. Looking back to the mist, Hera could see that as the moonlight hit it, the color shifted from that pale white to a more yellowish color that gave an impression of sunlight.
They could see something shifting in one of the nests, but the ones closest to the tunnel were empty. Hera and Blue activated their [Hide] skill and started moving towards the movement they were seeing. Unfortunately, Blue didn't have a high-level hiding ability. Her movement made enough noise to warn whatever was in the nest. The creature jumped towards them, opening its wings. Before anything, Hera triggered her [Observe].
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Juvenile Sky Ruler – Level 8 – 6% (Cloud Affinity)
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"Blue, that's the kid's version of the ruler!" Hera warned.
The monster had similar physique to the sky ruler spawn, but the colors were very different. It had blue and red feathers that covered its entire body, except its head, that was covered in purple feathers. In addition, the beak had a hooked tip, and the claws were almost translucent. It wasn't that big either. The griffon was about the size of a small cow, reaching about the height of Hera's chest. The monster lunged at the two, spreading its wings and splitting the humans apart. Hera tried to hit the griffon with her handaxe, but the creature was too fast. It dodged and spun around, creating a large gust of wind that sent Blue flying towards the nest. Seeing that, Hera jumped towards the creature, slashing its back with her handaxe. The griffon cried, but it kept staring at Blue, who was now closer to the nest.
Blue seemed to be having trouble getting up. She didn't have anything to hold on to, and the ground seemed slippery, almost like ice. The griffon crouched, ready to jump, but Hera was faster. She jumped on the monster's back and started hacking away at the creature. The juvenile sky ruler jumped up and tried to fly. Because of the added weight, it couldn't move that well, but it tried to spin around and get the human off of its back. Hera did her best to hold on as the creature got more and more frantic, sending several spells all over the place. Blades of wind, air bullets, and small clouds that created tiny hurricanes on impact went flying everywhere. The attacks kept going, but even in all that frenzy, the spells were avoiding the nest.
To protect herself, Blue jumped inside the nest and ducked down. Hera felt like she was on the worst mechanical bull ever, but she started attacking the griffon with her handaxe. With the human directly behind it, the monster couldn't do a thing. After receiving some attacks on its back, it started flying up at high speed. Hera did her best to hold on, but the juvenile ruler didn't seem to be stopping. Worried by the increasing height, she let go of the monster and braced herself for the fall. Luckily, she was just five meters above the ground when she let go, and the entire area was covered in fresh snow.
That wasn't the only thing that helped. Since Hera also had Pyrrick's buffs, her endurance reduced the damage she would suffer. In the end, the fall only made her graze her hands and knees. Then, moving to the left, she rushed towards the nest where Blue was located. The controller got up and looked around. A few branches and leaves were left in a large circle, and behind her, on the edge of the nest, a single grey egg. It looked like an ostrich egg going by its size.
"It's protecting the babies. Maybe we can use that." Blue turned to Hera.
"How many are there?"
"Just one egg."
"An egg?" Hera gasped and turned around, looking at the sky. Capri's voice echoed in her mind.
'When you find the storm, focus on the eggs.'
Despite having an egg there, there was no sign of a storm. So could this be the egg Capri talked about?
Before anything else happened, the juvenile sky ruler roared. Several heavy clouds gathered above it. Lightning crackled behind it before coming down towards Hera. She tried to dodge, but the electricity hit her foot. Luckily, the attack wasn't as bad as it looked. She only felt her muscles cramp up and some pain in her leg. As a response, she tossed a poison needle towards the monster. The ailment took hold, and Hera started using her paralyze to trigger the [Ailment Mastery] skill. She didn't want to waste too much mana right away with her poison control.
During all that time, Blue could only watch. She had yet to find a good way to fight at range. It took a few tries before the paralyze took hold, but the monster fell to the ground when it did. It crash-landed towards the tunnel, and Hera would not let that opportunity go by. She quickly chased it and started carving out its head with her handaxe. The sand buff that Ogryn placed on her weapon made the particles move around almost like an electric saw. Thanks to that, it didn't take long for the monster to literally lose its head.
With the griffon dead, she turned back to Blue and froze. All the way back on the peak behind the controller, a pair of wings spread out. It was almost like the mountain itself was trying to fly. Then, with a single beat of its wings, the creature was launched into the sky. Even at this distance, she could tell the griffon was massive. Hera's best estimate was that it should have at least a 15-meter wide wingspan.
More clouds gathered, covering the entire sky and turning the moonlit night into an expanse of pitch-black darkness. Lightning crackled with such strength that Hera felt like they were flashes from a massive camera, illuminating the entire plateau. The clouds swirled as the wind picked up strength. In less than a minute, the more or less peaceful area turned into a heavy thunderstorm.
Lightning crashed beside Hera, making her tumble to the side with the pure strength of the impact. She turned back to Blue and yelled, "Grab the egg and run! We need to reach the tunnel."
"Why the egg?" Blue asked.
"It might help you avoid the lightning," Hera said, the first thing that came into her mind. She couldn't afford to get paralyzed right now or to think about a better reason. Luckily, that was all it took. Blue grabbed the egg and ran towards the tunnel. Hera was several meters ahead, but she still took a small detour to grab the griffon's head. It could be useful for the dwarves since they never properly studied one.
More lightning came down, trying to hit Hera, but it seemed like the monster couldn't see her properly. She ran as fast as she could towards the tunnel, jumping into the mist as soon as possible. She tumbled and ended up on the other side of the barrier, with all the dwarves behind her.
"Hera?" Silah gasped.
"Blue?! Are you there?" Hera yelled, still holding the juvenile sky ruler's head, "Blue! C'mon Blue, run!" she called again and again.
The other dwarves started to get worried, but they were unsure of what had happened. They tried to ask what happened, but the explorer didn't reply. The only thing they knew was that Hera came back singed, carrying a head, and was now calling for her friend. Time seemed to slow down, and each second felt like a lifetime as Hera's mind went into overdrive.
Could Blue have been hit? There was no way. She was the fastest of the two, and she had her electric buff.
Maybe she didn't get a chance to use the spell. But why was she taking so long?
There was no noise coming from outside the barrier. It was like the spinning cloud blocked all sounds from coming through.
"Blue!" Hera called again and walked towards the barrier.
Seeing that, Silah dashed to stop her, but a blue-haired woman came running out of the barrier before anything else could happen. Blue and Hera crashed into each other, falling to the ground.
"Ouch, why are you in the way?" Blue asked.
Hera slapped the side of her friend's head and gave her a hug, "Why did you take so long?" she asked while pushing back the tears that were forming in her eyes.