When Hera got back home, Helena was already there, sitting on the couch with everyone surrounding her and trying to make her feel comfortable.

"Girls, please. Stop. I'm fine. You don't have to get all worried about me," Helena liked the attention, but it was too much. They were offering to get anything she needed, and if things kept going like that, it wouldn't be a surprise if someone wanted to carry her to the bathroom.

"Guys, give her some space," Hera tried to give her mentor some breathing room.

"Are you really feeling better?" Bonnie asked.

"I am. Really. It still hurts from time to time, but nothing like how it was before. Risli also gave me a few potions just in case I have another episode," Helena smiled.

"Right, she also gave me the formula, well the runes, she used for that numbing spell. I translated it to math, and I can share it with you," Bonnie pulled up her tablet and showed it to Helena.

"Oh, that will help. Especially with the new skill I got," Helena started copying the spell to her own tablet.

"What skill? The Reinforced Mana one?" Hera asked.

"Yeah. You guys got it too, right?"

"We did. I didn't know if you would remember that. You seemed really out of it when I visited," Bonnie said.

"Oh yeah. Risli has some amazing meds. I'm not trying to be a bad influence, but I was feeling great. I kind of want to get a couple of doses for myself," Helena chuckled.

"I doubt Risli would like that," Hera shook her head.

"Oh, by the way. What rank was the skill you got?" Helena turned to Bonnie.

"Rank 1, how could it be any better?" Bonnie looked confused.

"Well, I guess spending so long under that spell was worth it. Mine is already at rank 5, and I didn't even have to train for it. I got it like that," Helena couldn't hold back the massive smile on her face.

"Holy crap. Rank 5? What does it do?" Bonnie's eyes went wide.

"My spells cost 40% less mana, are 50% stronger, and my mana growth rate is 250%. Also, any spells that would target my mana are 50% weaker. I imagine that it could be things like mana drain, the parasites, or the spell that Ogryn was using," Helena explained.

"Wow, that is broken. Any chance I can get that skill too?" Blue asked.

"Well… Hera and I got the skill by surviving a few minutes under the mana burn spell, so maybe you can. But neither Risli nor Ogryn will help. I don't think it will have the same effect if one of us cast it," Bonnie was heading to the kitchen.

"That's true. Also, ours is only rank 1, and I don't think that all Lena got was because of the mana burn. If I had to make a bet, the fact that she spent so long with the parasites inside her also helped with that," Hera thought that since Helena withstood the constant attacks from the parasites for a whole year, the extra ranks came from there and not just the mana burn.

"Right…. But there is one thing that I don't understand," when Alex spoke, everyone turned to her, "Why did you only get the skill after the spell was over? Shouldn't you have gotten it during it? Or during the entire year you still had the parasites?"

"Well… I can't say for sure. I know that resistance skills only show up if you survive whatever made you get it. So if you are being hit by fire, something like a fire-resistance skill will wait for the fire to be put out before appearing. This might be something along the same lines," Helena didn't notice when Bonnie came back and put a cup of tea in her hand.

"That's… odd. I wonder why the system does it like that," Alex scratched her head.

"Well. Maybe it's easier. The system is lazy. Changing how much something is hurting you midway might be complicated," Hera replied.

"That's a bold assumption," Bonnie turned to her.

"It's just how I see things," Hera shrugged. She couldn't say anything else without talking about the guides.

The group talked some more, and Hera shared the compendiums of the skills she got in the guild. She got about 20 different ones. A couple of the basic elemental resistances required you to be exposed to those elements, those were pretty cheap, and Hera only got two to confirm if there were different methods. In the end, it was more simple than she expected. For instance, to get the [Water Resistance] skill, she could just be inside water with high concentrations of mana. It was a skill that most people ended up getting, even if it was just because they took regular showers in deeper layers of the MAZE. Others were just basic upgrades. [Heightened Senses] would allow her to hear and see better while [Magic Manipulation] ended up being a weaker version of her [Shaper of Mana]. Others would make one faster, stronger, or take less damage overall, but they were all very simple to acquire, just move or get hit, and eventually, you would get the skill. Of the 20 compendiums she bought, Hera only got 2 more specific ones. [Pathfinding] could help her understand the area and find the best way to reach her destination. Another called [Magic Exposure] could make the target more vulnerable to ailments, debuffs, and other negative conditions if they were hit multiple times by the same type of effect. Basically, with that skill, the more she used the same element to attack, the higher the chance of inflicting some sort of ailment on the target.

The reason Hera only picked those skills was simple. There were way too many options, and she had no idea how long it would take to get the skills, even with the compendium's help. If she ended up taking too many, she would spread herself too thin and take even longer to get the skills, and it wasn't like she could look over all the catalogue the guild had, much less learn them all.

Another two days passed, and Helena was not just feeling better, but with her newfound freedom, she kept constantly casting random spells. Not once did Helena use any of the glowing rocks around the house. Instead, she made the lights herself. There was also a shadowy tentacle that she used to grab things and open doors. It was a bit unsettling, but no one was going to complain. At least, not about the magic. During that time, Shane was very eager to get going and sent constant texts to everyone asking when they could head to the White Desert.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Now, Helena barely felt the phantom pains, and even when that happened, the episodes were manageable.

"So? What are you saying, Lena?" Shane asked. She dropped by to check up on Helena and apply some slight pressure for the team to leave.

"I'm saying that I'm ok with going tomorrow. Let me have one last day of rest, just in case."

"Are you sure about that?" Blue asked.

"I am. The episodes now are kind of like, mild menstrual cramps. Not good by any means, but far from being awful," Helena nodded.

"That's great! I'll let Mylo know, and we can get everything ready. Can we leave first thing in the morning? I want to take advantage of the sun in the rooms," Shane turned to the rest of the group.

"I mean. I'm fine with that, but why such a hurry? The ruins are not going anywhere," Alex asked.

"The ruins won't, but there is no guarantee that no one will find them. Sure, I'm the one who has the lead to get there, but imagine if someone stumbles in that place and finds my legacy?" Shane explained.

"Your legacy? A bit presumptuous, don't you think?" Helena smirked.

"Hey, I'm being positive here. I worked my ass off to find all this, and I want that legacy," Shane shrugged.

"Ok, I have a different question then. What about dungeons? If there are any on the way, can we stop to do them? I mean, we are going to a bunch of brand new rooms. The rewards should be at least a level up," Hera wanted to see the ruins, but she already had missed the chance of being the first to complete the dungeons on the Kobold Road. Losing a level like that wasn't something that she was keen on doing again.

"Well… if it's something quick and on the way, I think we could stop and do it. But only if it's on our path. I don't want to make a 4-hour detour. Besides, I'm sure the guild already sent people to do the first run in whatever dungeon they found," Shane said.

Hera received a text on her tablet, letting her know Ashe got her message and would wait for her in one of the communication rooms.

"Guys, I'll be right back. I have to deal with a thing," Hera sighed.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Silah asked.

"I don't think you will be able to be in the room with me. Besides, I don't want you to be waiting for who knows how long," Hera kissed Silah's forehead, "But thanks for the offer."

"I don't mind waiting. I wanted to take a look at the crafting skills the guild sells too," Silah got up and headed to the door.

Hera smiled and left the house with her girlfriend. Taking the chance to talk, Hera explained a bit more about how it would be to travel between rooms and what Silah should tell her family. Despite the large group, there would still be some dangers, and it would be prudent to let them know that something bad could happen. A few minutes later, they arrived at the guild. One of the clerks let Hera know that Ashe was already waiting for her. After taking a deep breath, she entered one of the private rooms that was equipped with a computer, a webcam, and a large monitor. Touching her guild card to a sensor, the computer turned on, and a man appeared on the screen. His bright pink hair was down, and he looked like hell. His clothes were dirty, and his eyes sunken. The man was looking at her with wide eyes and his mouth half-open. That lasted for a while until Hera felt uncomfortable enough to speak up.

"Can you see me, or the image is frozen?"

"No, no. I see you. Sorry, it's just that… after the last time I saw you, I thought you would never want to speak to me," Ashe rubbed his eyes.

"Honestly, this wasn't high on my list. And you grabbing me out of the blue didn't help. Still, someone gave me a push to do this," she still had bad memories about this man, and this chat wasn't helping with it.

"I appreciate it. Also, I'm very sorry for what I did. I needed money to hire a healer to help my baby sister and got a job as that kid's bodyguard. In the end, he only wanted a thug to order around," Ashe wasn't looking directly at her, but at the table in front of him.

"Really? That's how you say you are sorry? If you want me to say that it's fine and you had your reasons, I'm not going to. What you did was wrong. It doesn't matter how much you try to justify it," Hera crossed her arms.

"No. I know that. Damn it, this wasn't how I wanted to say it," Ashe took a deep breath, "Look, I'm an ass. I'm well aware of that. What I did to you... That was my lowest point. Or at least until last week when I made my sick sister make me throw up so I wouldn't O.D. Either way that doesn't matter. I'm sorry. What I did was wrong, and I swear on my life that I will never try to hurt anyone like that again."

"Can I really believe that?" Hera asked.

"You can! If you want, I'll even quit being an explorer after paying for my sister's treatment," Ashe's eyes were full of resolve. In a way, they were similar to Helena's during her treatment. Hera felt like he was telling the truth.

"Ok, then. I accept your apology. But if you ever do something like that again, I'll find a way to retract that," Hera replied after a few seconds. Seconds that felt like an eternity for Ashe.

"Really? Thank you. Thank you so much," the man's eyes started to water.

"Feel free to call me a bitch or whatever, but I never want to see you again," Hera said, already getting up from the chair, "Still, I do hope your sister gets better soon. It's not her fault you are her brother."

With that, Hera left the private room looking for a clerk. She talked about the apology and how she accepted it. They put it on the system and added the video file to his registration.

"All done. He should be reinstated by the next month or so. We can also give you a warning if he's ever in an adjacent room with you. It's automated, you don't have to worry about anyone seeing but you," the clerk suggested.

"No thanks. I really don't care," despite that line, what he said about his sick sister was still on Hera's mind. Knowing that she would feel guilty for it, she turned back to the clerk, "Hey. Can you tell me if he has a sick sister?"

"I mean… I can't divulge personal information, but if he used that to make you feel bad and accept his apology, that's another thing."

"No, nothing like that. I was going to accept it either way, but he did mention a sick sister. Was that true?"

"Again, I can't tell you details, but…" the clerk typed on her computer, "Yeah, he wasn't lying. There is even a request for a healer, but he has yet to pay for it."

"How much?" Hera asked.

"I can't tell you that."

"Yeah, sorry. I'm just feeling bad now. Can I make an anonymous donation?"

"Sure. Sometimes people on deeper layers feel a bit charitable and pay off other people's debts. Shame that never happened to me though," the clerk pulled a small screen for Hera to put her card information and set up the donation.

Hera did some math and typed 24 thousand before confirming. She had no idea how much the healer would cost, but that amount should be two times her annual pay from when she worked at the bookstore. As donations go, it was a sizeable one. Not just that, but in the end, it was more of a way to make herself feel less guilty about how Ashe's sister might have suffered because of her.

After that, she went looking for Silah, who was shopping for skills in one of the private rooms. Hera hugged her girlfriend and just watched as she searched for crafting things with an absent mind. What Hera needed now was some adventure, something that asked her to move her body, use magic and fight some monsters. Luckily, her travel to an old ruin would start tomorrow.