It's been less than 24 hours that everyone got their new skills, and there were already countless articles about all of them. Crafters had [Recycle] that allowed them to break down an item to recover some of the materials used to create said item. Researchers got a skill called [Develop]. It was an extension of their [Learn] skill that allowed them to see the paths they could take to improve something they were working on. Healers had a very unexpected surprise. They got a skill called [Diagnosis], which allowed them to see a wound and understand what happened. Since healing was much more effective when they knew what to do, this was a great tool for them. Fighters had something called [Block], which worked in tandem with [Fury] and could improve someone's defenses, as long as they actively tried to block an attack. Lastly, but certainly not least, Mages got a skill called [Spell Weave]. Thanks to that skill, it was easier to change the effects of an ongoing spell as long as it matched the element of their mana. Hera felt like that was a bit similar to the [Shaper of Mana] skill, but she wasn't entirely sure of the specifics. She would have to talk to Helena later on.
Not to say that everyone was happy with the new skills. Many people were freaking out about the reason why the system gave them said skill. It was a conspiracy theory galore, most of them involving the towers and how there was a deep dark secret that the guild was hiding. In response to that, the guild released a couple of statements to tone those rumors down. The first was letting everyone know that they were investigating why everyone got the skill. There were some theories already, but they had to confirm them before giving any concrete information. However, the second announcement ended up being even better to distract everyone.
Two people were going to challenge the tower as a group. A duo that was not only well known but beloved by many. Bright Night and Dark Star. Recording and accompanying them would be Becca Swan. The reporter wouldn't do much to help them in the challenge unless the situation became too dangerous. There was also a disclaimer in the announcement that the event would be prerecorded since they had to be sure that there wouldn't be anything too graphic to show on an open channel. Adding more fuel to the fire, the reason why the singing duo wanted to challenge the tower was that among the rewards given by the building, there was a role change.
People were going nuts about that. Not only was it extremely rare to see the singers fighting, but that would be the first and only glimpse that many people would have about the tower. It was in the 26th layer, so only someone who went past level 80 should be comfortable going there. Apparently, Becca was the only one who would be low level for the challenge. Hera was a bit worried about that since the reporter was someone she knew personally, but she calmed down after reading the entire announcement. Becca was going to receive some buffs, new gear, and a few items that would increase her survivability a lot. Since that was already her focus, this meant that even if she was around 20 levels weaker than the singers, she should be able to survive inside the tower. Interestingly enough, they wouldn't enter the tower by the same room where she was first located. As they found out, all rooms in the 26th layer had that tower, and a safer approach was found.
Instead of crossing the Qeeroni Wilds, the room where the wall was broken, they would go through a much smaller room with a direct path to the 26th layer that led to what was called a paradise room. A room where no wild monsters were roaming about, much like the Kobold Fields. In there, they had just a hill with the tower on top and another doorway to the other side. The entire room was just 1 km wide, making an amazing place to set up a main city, which was already being built by the guild.
Hera and her group gathered in front of the hotel, waiting for Leo and Tiger to arrive. It was time to head back to the Wailing Valley. Hera had checked with Shane, and apparently, the guild had already set up a camp near the graveyard. About a dozen people were there excavating the ruins and trying to learn more about the Naga people. Ancient structures like those could give them a different insight into the workings of the MAZE, especially since they seemed to be from before Khan.
Shane was among the group, and apparently, they weren't able to enter the Naga hero's tomb with that group. No one had figured out the elements necessary to trigger one of the runes. For now, only Hera could make it work, which meant that everyone in that group was excited about having her join the camp, even if just for a while. Just as the group started to head to the doorway, Sebastian joined them. There was a woman by his side with short hair and a scar on her neck who seemed friendly even if her size was a bit intimidating. She was wearing full armor, and the straps seemed to struggle to keep her muscles at bay, and the heavy serrated two-handed sword on her back didn't do much to make her less threatening. Despite all that, the woman was very friendly and open. Her title was Red Lotus, and she didn't like it very much. People always associated that name with someone dainty and feminine, which didn't match her whole vibe. She got the title during a rampage where she had to hold one passage on her own. When backup arrived, they just found her surrounded by monster corpses and blood sprays that they said looked like a lotus flower. Red Lotus was sure that the only reason why people saw that was because the room had a massive lotus field, and they were so tired that everything seemed twisted. Still, people kept calling her Red Lotus after the rampage, and it just stuck.
"Then why is your armor green?" Blue asked.
"Because I don't want people to associate me with the color red. I know that some people lean into their titles, like toxic rain that is always wearing green and purple, but red is really not my color," Red Lotus sighed.
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"And why are you going to the valley, if you don't mind me asking," Leo turned to the woman.
"I'm plan B. Sebastian here is going to check a giant snake's level, and I'm here just in case the monster decides to attack."
"Can you handle it? Apparently, it's above level 60," Hera asked.
"I should be able to. I'm level 83. Even if it's a monster the size of a building and that's alive for thousands of years, I should be able to kill it. Not to say that I wouldn't appreciate some backup, but since it's being passive, the guild didn't want to call a bunch of people and make it feel threatened. If that changes, I'll probably stick around until we've dealt with it," Red Lotus explained.
They continued chatting as they crossed the doorway before splitting off. Sebastian and Red Lotus stayed back in the settlement since they still had to talk with the guild before heading out. Hera and her party left the safety of the campsite and headed towards the abyss, where they crossed to the other side. According to Shane, starting from the same spot that they crossed the chasm, the guild had built a tall bridge to allow everyone to cross over without having to rely on skills or something that forced you to jump that abyss.
On the other side, they would have to walk to the graveyards, where a small camp was used as a home base for Shane and the other people interested in the ruins. Unfortunately, they couldn't get the bikes this time. Tiger would be too far behind if they used that transport. Hera tried calling Nimbus, her cloud griffon mount, but the construct wasn't strong enough to carry more than one person at the time, and Tiger couldn't be ridden by anyone aside from Leo. In the end, they would have to go the old-fashioned way.
It was a long journey, and the scarabs seemed to excite Tiger in a way. Every time one of those creatures got close, the frog started salivating as if it was lost in the desert and the monster was a glass of water. Still, Leo let his pet indulge a couple of times before having to stop him from eating. Otherwise, he would end up being sick. It took them almost a full day of travel while fighting a few monsters on the way. It seemed like the guild had set up a trail of lamp posts across the path leading to the other side of the chasm. Thanks to the light, it was easier for them to move along, but at the same time, it attracted monsters to those areas. Apparently, the idea was to eventually put some monster repellent set up on the posts to allow for more safe travels, but that would still take some time to be done.
Before even reaching the abyss, the group saw where the bridge would start. Someone had built it on the side of the valley, using the wall as part of the structure. It was actually really smart. They carved out the shape they needed, and the areas that were no longer full gave part of the material needed to make the actual bridge. What surprised Hera the most was how tall the bridge was. When they arrived in the middle of it, she guessed they were about 20 meters above the ground. Well, above the ground of the valley. If they were talking about the chasm, she still had no idea how deep it went. There was a big possibility that the existence of the giant snake influenced the way the structure was built. After all, if it was something this high up, there would be more time to notice the monster coming. Not to mention the width of the bridge. A slab 20 meters wide and 100 meters long of stone was being held by an arched support beam. Making the bridge this wide was a way to hold back the snake and to make sure that they had a 'highway' of sorts for when they decided to create an actual outpost on the other side of the chasm.
Everyone was crossing the bridge when they saw the mist rolling in the chasm. Not that the fog wasn't there before, but now a larger cloud was coming closer. Still too far to even threaten to touch the upper layer of the room. Still, it was an incredible sight. It was almost as if there was a steam locomotive under all that fog, pushing forward and creating more steam as it passed by. Suddenly, the movement of whatever was under the mist stopped, and the mist slowly started to fill up the chasm. As mesmerizing as that scene was, the group kept moving forward, not wanting to stay there and risk having the snake attacking them on the bridge. Even if there was no indication that the snake was aggressive, no one was willing to test that theory out.
About an hour later, the group arrived in the camp where the archaeologist had set up. Shane wasn't around at the time, but they were already aware that Hera and the others were coming. In fact, they were all very excited about Hera's arrival. Shane had told them about the spell required to open the Naga hero's tomb, but no one had figured out the element yet. The people in there started asking about the spell, and since it was late, and they were tired, Hera's group decided to hang on in the camp and only go to the tomb on the next day.
Sometime later, Shane arrived, and Hera had a chance to talk to her since the explorer had become the unofficial leader of the excavation.
"Can I make a condition to open the tomb?" Hera asked.
"Depends on the condition," Shane replied.
"I don't want anyone with me in the yellow Naga room. I don't know if or what I'm going to find there, but I rather not have anyone looking over my shoulder," Hera explained.
"I think we can work with that. There will be a lot of things for everyone to look into and the people here are more interested in the cultural aspects. I'm just not sure how long I can keep them off of you," Shane sighed.
"That works," Hera nodded. They talked some more with Shane explaining how everything was set up here and what they had found already. Hera wasn't that excited about the discoveries, but at the same time, it was incredible how much they were able to discover just by studying some tombs.
Hera hung around the camp, talking to her friends until they went to bed. When they went to bed, Hera had trouble sleeping. She was too excited about the idea of finally starting looking into her lead.