Sometime after breakfast, Hera called all the Royal Explorers, plus Bonnie and Helena to the dining room. She explained to everyone what she found and was very quick to stop people from asking the source of all that information, stating that it was because of her relic and that was it. Hera also told everyone about Adriel's spell and how they could search for that area for a new doorway.
"Now, like I said, the main reason why I want to go there is because of the Naga. I really want to find where they ended up, and I want to see if that will lead us anywhere. That being said, I don't think this would be a place where we would find anything about the old dwarves," Hera explained.
"Why is that?" Callena asked.
"Because it's in the middle of the ocean. I highly doubt that a large group would go through there. Not to mention, imagine taking Fethy or the King there," Hera chuckled, and the dwarves started nodding, "Either way, this is what I wanted to do. Go there with Adriel and whoever else is willing to go while the rest of you continue searching for the next doorway."
"But if you are going there, who is going to lead us?" Lorna asked.
"When you were back in Boothudurn, did you always have someone leading you? In your jobs, I mean," Hera asked.
Lorna stopped to think for a moment, remembering all the work he had in the guard. Sure, Naka would show them the ropes in the dungeon, but she wouldn't be a part of every single dungeon run, "Not always. They would give us a task and let us work," Lorna finally replied.
"That's the same thing. You guys know what you have to do. Those who don't want to go with me can continue doing that. The goal is to find another doorway or something related to your ancestors, and I truly believe that you are much more likely to make those connections than I am," Hera continued.
"How about when we arrive in the next room? What do we do then?" Farica asked.
"First, you will check the level of the monsters that should be inside. And I don't mean just go inside and check. We have a lot of information online. Use that. Look up the layer and see what's the level range that you should expect. Then, if the monsters are too strong, you should make groups to level up in dungeons or go hunting somewhere. If not, and you are around the right level, then you should head inside and carefully explore the room. Remember to always bring supplies and be ready to have to hunt or gather your own food. Also, why is everyone acting like I'm going on a long trip? I'm just going to be one room over. The internet tower we installed in the archipelago should still work on the other side, even if just near the doorway. So if you have any questions just message me," when they heard Hera's last phrase, all the dwarves relaxed a bit. At first, the idea of being here without the Countess seemed daunting, but since she wouldn't be that far away, it should be ok.
Hera waited for a moment, letting everyone settle down before continuing, "Now, before I ask who wants to come with me. Do you have any more questions?" there was silence in the room, and it seemed like all their doubts had been answered, "Ok then. Adriel can't bring everyone, only ten people. So we still have eight spots left. Who is in the mood for an underwater expedition?"
Alex, Blue, Helena, and Bonnie were the first to raise their hands. They were much more invested in Hera's interest than in the Royal Explorer's mission. But none of the dwarves seemed interested in that. Hera felt that reaction was a bit weird, "I didn't expect everyone to want to come, but is there a reason why no one wants to come?"
The dwarves stared at each other for a moment, as if they were unsure of what to say. Eventually, Bertrand spoke up, "We don't know the ocean,"
"Yeah… I think that is it," Rayna nodded, "We don't actually know much about the ocean, and seeing such a large body of water is… Weird, to say the least. I mean, we only knew the lake in Boothudurn, so looking to the horizon and not seeing land scares us."
"Not to mention, you made a point of saying how dangerous the sea is. Monsters that can swallow entire boats, creatures from the depths that have odd shapes and weird behaviors. I was reading about a thing called a man o' war, and it is like a piece of rubber that can kill you just by touching you," Yerel shivered as he spoke.
"You think that is bad? Look at the blue ring octopus or the cone snail. The man o' war is not even the worst jellyfish. You should read about the box jellyfish. From what I heard, you need to have an endurance of about 200 to survive its sting, while the man o' war, you only need like 50, " Hayat rolled her eyes at the healer.
"Oh… I guess we did too good of a job at scaring you. That wasn't the intention. The ocean is so big that it's very hard to see those kinds of things. Still, it's good to be careful with it," Hera nodded.
"Also, despite the more obvious danger, the MAZE is safer than Earth," Helena chimed in, and everyone turned to look at her, "You see, back on Earth, we have a lot of those small things that can kill us right away. From bugs to fish and even some trees that could kill most people just by getting close to them. Inside the MAZE, things are more organized. If you are in a room with monsters that go up to level 20, anyone who is at level 20 should be able to survive a hit of its poison or any toxin they release. Well, I'm talking about the regular monsters. There are always some that don't fit the rule."
"So, knowing that, is there anyone who wants to join?" Hera asked again, but the result was the same. None of the dwarves seemed to be interested in going with them, "Ok then. I'll be scouting for at least another day before we actually go there. If anyone changes your mind, let me know before we head out. Right now, we still have four spots," Hera turned to Adriel, "Right?"
"I would say three. Four might cause problems if we need to defend ourselves from those weird fish things you mentioned," Adriel replied.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
With that out of the way, Hera pulled up her tonfas and was about to start talking with Nimbus in her mind when Mylo approached, "Hera. Did you tell Shane about this?"
"I didn't. Why?" Hera tilted her head.
"Because it's about Naga. I think she would want to go."
"That's fair," Hera glanced at Blue and the others, remembering how things ended when they found Shane's legacy. Even when they were in the archeology camp, there was a weird tension in the air when Blue and Shane were together. However, Mylo was right. Shane was an expert in the Naga, and if Hera wanted to discover more about them, she would be the best person to bring along, "I just need to make sure everyone is ok with having her as part of the soup. I'll send her a text right after it, even if it's just to let her know where we are going."
It was clear that Mylo didn't like that answer, but he didn't say anything. Hera went to talk to Blue right away and pulled the group to a bedroom so they could have a private conversation. As soon as everyone was inside, she closed the door and cast the soundproof spell.
"Ok, this seems serious. What are we doing?" Alex asked.
"Here is the thing. I wanted to ask you all if you are ok with bringing Shane along on this trip. That is if she wants to. Mylo talked to me, and since we are technically chasing a Naga, she might be interested," Hera explained.
"I mean, this is your trip, not mine. But I still don't like her," Blue replied.
"I know. That's why I'm asking if you guys are ok with it. I don't want to force anyone to be uncomfortable. Especially since you are all here mostly because of me," in the past few days, she realized that Alex and Blue were mostly tagging along. They asked to be part of the royal explorers, but it never felt like they were looking forward to the job, and that was making Hera feel guilty for a while already. So much so that she was inadvertently avoiding the two.
"I'm not here because of you. Well, not just because of you," Alex replied.
"Really?"
"Yeah. I like exploring, even if I didn't become an explorer. Besides, doing this kind of thing, it's much better than just doing the same dungeon over and over to get stronger. There is less pressure, you know," as Alex explained, Hera understood what she meant. In fact, after thinking about it for a moment, the Countess realized that ever since the Royal Explorers started, Alex was much more relaxed. At first, she imagined it was because of Adriel, but after hearing that, she realized that maybe it wasn't her love life that put the assassin's mind at ease.
"Ditto. Well, sort of," everyone looked at Blue, expecting her to say something similar, but the controller just scratched the back of her head, "Look. Unlike you guys, I didn't become an explorer with a specific goal in mind. The idea was just to make money so I could support my family. I know that I don't spend much time with them, but they are still the reason why I came to the MAZE in the first place. After we got stuck in Boothudurn, I made enough money to sustain them for a while, and I've been sending part of our share of the Kobold Tunnel to them so I can be more relaxed with everything. In the end, I'm just going with the motions and doing what I think it's fun. This place is getting boring very fast, but if we are going to a new room, then that might be fun. Now, about Shane. Like I said, I don't like or trust her. But I understand that she might be helpful if we are looking for a Naga or something related to them. So, if you want to bring her, that's fine."
"Thank you. I'll do my best to make our trip fun," Hera smiled.
"Ok, but why all the secrecy?" Bonnie pointed at the green dome that was covering them.
"Oh, right. Here is the thing. I haven't told Adriel about my legacy yet. So, of course, I didn't tell him about Shane's either. He knows I have a flying mount and Daskka, but that's about it. I was going to ask you all not to mention it, if possible," Hera explained.
"Gotcha. Don't worry. I'll be quiet about it," Helena nodded.
"It's not my secret to tell. Can we go now?" Bonnie was still standing up by the door.
"Hang on," Alex stopped them, "I know it's your legacy, and I don't have the right to say anything about it, but I think you can trust him. He is a good guy, and I don't think he would go around telling everyone about it."
"It's not that I don't trust him. But I don't know him well enough. Maybe this trip will help me fix that. And it's not like I'm saying I won't use my legacy under any circumstance. If something goes wrong, I'll gladly call my court out and tell him about it later. A secret is not worth our lives," Hera explained.
"Like you would have a choice," Daskka scoffed.
"What?" Hera looked down at the snake around her neck.
"Mum, if you are in danger, we are going to help you. You don't have a say in that."
"Even if I order you guys not to?"
"Yep. That's the one time we are allowed to go against your orders. Your life takes precedence over everything. I told you that before."
Hera looked to the rest of the group, "Ok then. Apparently, that wasn't even an option. If we are in danger, my court will show up to help us even if I don't want them to."
"Good to know. Now can we leave?" Bonnie was fidgeting by the door.
"Are you ok?" Hera asked.
"I am. Can we go?"
"C'mon, this is important. Why are you being like this?" Blue crossed her arms.
"I really need to go to the bathroom. Can we finish this later? Or someone tells me what happened after this."
"Oh… sure. You can just leave. The barrier only stops sound," Hera replied.
"Really? But how does that work? Does the barrier blocks a specific wave frequency?" Bonnie touched the green dome that was surrounding them, and her hand went right through it."
"It could also be a miniature void field," Helena suggested.
"But that seems way too advanced for a basic spell. I mean, Hera uses it like it's nothing, so I'm guessing it doesn't cost a lot of mana," Bonnie continued.
"Don't you need to go to the bathroom? Hera can show you that spell later," Blue shook her head. As soon as someone reminded Bonnie of that, she could feel her bladder about to burst and dashed out of the room at a full speed.
Watching that, Hera just turned to Helena, "Does she always get like that when you two are talking about spells?"
"Pretty much. I've given up on telling her to take care of herself," Helena sighed.
"Then why were you going along with her curiosity?" Alex asked.
Helena just gave them a mischievous smile, "It's kind of fun seeing how long it takes before her body says 'nope.'"
Everyone stared at Helena for a moment, and Daskka spoke in Hera's mind, 'If that's what she does with her friends, let's try to stay on her good side.'