As Nimbus flew through the sky, the guides kept attacking, trying to bring the griffon down. Only Johnny had a proper ranged attack. Everyone else had minor spells, but since the guides were extremely proficient in the use of magic, giving them any sort of considerable magic would increase the difficulty too much. Because of that, they were limited to the simplest spells they could muster, but even the very basic attacks they were sending were enough to give Hera and Nimbus some trouble.

'Get to the ground. You are faster running than flying,' Hera was using her court to parry the spells, but if things kept going like that, they would end up being destroyed, and Hera would be in deep trouble.

Nimbus did just that, and it became somewhat easier to evade the spells. First because of his speed and second because they all came from the same place. Hera threw a spore cloud behind them as well as a slow field to hinder the movement of the incoming guides.

"We need a big distraction," she looked at Johnny, who was still throwing his spear at them. It was a cheat move since he could recall his weapon after each attack. She knew he was far more effective on the ground, so she needed a way to distract them while she made an escape with her mount. The floodlight spell wouldn't work, and she wasn't that well-versed in illusion magic to make something weird happen. But one thing she could use was fire. Using the flaming poison rain, she aimed at the forest to the side, hoping to create a fire behind them. She might be overdoing it, but the wood here shouldn't burn easily.

The guide with basic armor stopped and turned to the forest as the flames started to rain down. It spread quickly among the dry grasses and trees there. Soon, a raging fire broke out, threatening to destroy the whole area.

Hera wasn't expecting the flames to spread out so fast, 'Fly!' she screamed, and Nimbus took off into the air again. Now using the smoke of the burning forest to hide. It didn't take long for the fountain to get in her sight, and as Nimbus was diving towards it, a staff came flying towards the Sentinel, hitting his head. The strike was enough to knock the Sentinel out. He started falling back towards the ground, still keeping his shape but unable to move around. Not wanting to harm him even more, Hera sent him back and tumbled when landing to reduce the damage she would take in the fall. Now, she could see the fountain, but she could also see Peaches, Capri, Calina, Nina, and Talpa running toward her. She turned to the fountain and bolted while still holding the box in front of her chest. Daskka started to throw balls of mist at the incoming guides. Hera didn't even know what that spell would do. It was the first time the snake ever used that attack but now wasn't the time to ask about it.

The Empress glanced back and saw the guides gaining ground on her. She realized that the challenges should have enemies up to level 35, and it was very likely that the guides were pulling their punches so far, but when it came to raw attributes, they should be much higher than hers. Not wanting to be caught, she went for a hail mary. Hera triggered her [All In] skill while trying to make the action to be running.

Every time she used that skill was to perform a simple and quick action. However, there were two times when she was trying to train the skill when she managed to perform several different motions before activating the cooldown and the debuff. She tried to replicate that effect later but to no avail. Instead of thinking about running, Hera tried to make her action to 'escape.' That seems to be working. Hera was running much faster than she was before. It wasn't enough to keep up with the guides, but she got a significant boost. Daskka continued attacking while Hera ran at full speed. She considered using the glide function of her boots, but that might reduce her speed.

A few moments passed, and the guides were getting close. In the distance, Daskka even managed to see the ones they fought in the tower coming from the beach, 'Mum! We have more company.'

Hera gritted her teeth and continued running, seeing the fountain getting closer and closer. At the same time, Peaches and Capri were hot on her heels, already reaching out to grab her and just a few centimeters away from touching her. She stepped into the area around the fountain, now just five meters away from her goal, and for a brief moment, a thought came to her mind, 'I did it!'

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[All In] effects deactivated, the cooldown will now start.

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"No, no, no, no, no, no!" Hera gasped as she felt her body become sluggish. She could feel someone's hand in the back of her hair, and in a desperate attempt, she used the stone shape spell below her, trying to push her forward enough to reach the fountain. The sand tried to rise, but it only worked to give her a small cover. As a final option, Hera jumped forward, aiming at the fountain. She saw she wouldn't make it, but hoping it would be enough, she tossed the box into the water and fell to the ground. Expecting to be attacked, she covered the back of her head with her hands and braced herself. Yet… nothing happened.

'Mum… I think we are ok,' Daskka said when she finally looked up.

"Are we?" Hera asked and turned back. All the guides were there, or at least the armors they were using were there, just standing behind her. The plain one, which should belong to the original guide of the room, walked forward, gave her a small bow, and then snapped their fingers. All the smoke that was in the air and all the fire on the island was gone, and the place was again in pristine condition.

The armors started moving again, but instead of attacking, they all started clapping. The simple armor gave Hera another bow and waved as it stepped into a portal leading back to the front of the house while the rest of them started glowing, and the guides who were controlling them came out, almost like they were going out of a mech. Hera glanced back at the fountain, and the box was still there.

"Did… did I win?" Hera asked to confirm what was happening.

"You did, kid. Gotta say the way you went about it was pretty smart. According to the guide you haven't met yet, most people would focus on fighting and only then going after the treasure. He even praised you for the fight you had in the tower," Peaches smiled.

Stolen story; please report.

"Oh yeah. Having Daskka follow up on your flashbang with a dark cloud freaked me out. I honestly thought you had done something with my helmet," Laika nodded as her tail wagged.

"If I'm being honest, it was the other way around it. The floodlight spell was a way to distract you guys while Daskka created the mist cloud," Hera scratched her cheek, a bit embarrassed about all that praise. She suddenly felt Nimbus waking up and called the Sentinel out.

"Ugh. What happened?" Nimbus asked.

"Sorry about that, big guy. We had to stop you," Peaches replied.

"Did you have to aim for my temple?" Nimbus rubbed his head. It wasn't hurting anymore, but he could still remember the feeling.

"It was effective, wasn't it?" Peaches smirked.

"I have to say yes, unfortunately."

"Either way, congratulations, honey! That was one heck of a show. Oh… the guide in charge of this room is telling me to give you a freebie since you helped him figure one thing out," Jackie smiled as she approached Hera.

"A freebie? And what did he figure out?" Hera tilted her head.

"He always felt like this forest wasn't exactly right. He is the one who made the entire challenge, after all. When you set the woods on fire, you made him realize that he forgot to make the trees as wet as they should be. You have to admit. Everything caught on fire pretty darn fast." Jackie explained.

"Oh, yeah. That makes sense, and what is the freebie?" Hera asked.

"A single question. Think of one that is not too complicated. If the answer is 'he can't answer it,' it will still count," Jackie continued, "Oh, and we can't help you come up with the question. It's up to you."

Hera thought for a moment but didn't need that much time. She was already thinking about what to ask, and there was one thing she really wanted to know, "If we complete all the challenges and leave the room, then we come back. Do we have to complete them all again before leaving?"

It didn't take long, but the one who replied was Kelpi, not Jackie, "No. If you complete the challenges once, you are free to enter and leave the room as many times as you want. And there is no time restriction. You can come back here in fifty years, and things will remain the same."

Hera let out a sigh of relief, "Good. This makes things easier for me to come back here later."

"Now, for the fun part. Since we made this challenge more difficult for you, you also get a little bit of a better reward," Nina smiled.

"Yep. We saw what you guys were trying to do during the fights. It was close to a dance, and we can tell you are close to getting a skill related to it, but not quite there just yet," Talpa had her arms crossed but was gesticulating a lot while speaking.

"That thing you did to make me almost hit Kelpi was great too, and it was something related to a skill that, again, you are not quite there yet. And I think you are missing a key piece to make it work," Laika added.

"We can help you with that. We are great at understanding our surroundings," Kelpi walked closer to Laika and put his elbow on her shoulder.

Johnny stepped forward and pointed at his head with both hands, "Dude, I can tell you guys are trying to work together, and you are doing great. But you are still too much in your head, man. You need to trust your bodies more," he hugged himself when finishing the sentence.

"Or, we can give you an item. But, because of the way the challenge works. It will not be something used for battle," Berthellemy floated closer to Hera.

"So I can ask your help to get one of the skills you mentioned or an item?" Hera wanted to be sure of what she agreed to before making her final decision.

Peaches looked around, "What do you guys say? Can we do what we just talked about?"

Jackie nodded, "I think so, hun. Let's face it. She was fighting against all of us while being six levels behind. Sure, she wasn't able to do any damage to anyone, but she also didn't take that much of a beating. With one exception," she glanced at Calina.

"I told her I was sorry, and it wasn't my fault. The feelings of the armor got in my head. That's why they even took it out. But I agree. She wasn't able to do all that against Peaches and me, but when seeing the other fights, it's clear how far along she is," Calina added.

Johnny started nodding, letting his now dreadlocked mane go back and forth, some of the hair hitting his lion nose and making him sneeze. He apologized and continued, "100%, man. They moved together so well, and she even changed weapons on the fly. That wouldn't work if she wasn't right there, bro."

"The incredible me regrets not being able to meet her face-to-face in battle. Alas, I must agree. From what we saw, it wouldn't take much, and the alternative wouldn't feel like a proper reward," Capri nodded with his wings folded in his back.

"Could you guys tell me what you are talking about? I'm a bit confused here," Hera looked at the guides.

"You see, kid. We noticed those skills, but you are close to getting all of them. Our reward option would be to help you learn one of them, but since you are so close, and there are several of you to teach, we figured we could give you a hand with more than just one," Peaches explained.

"Wait. Are you teaching me those skills? All of them?" Hera gasped.

"We are teaching you all three, and that's because you are already very close to getting them for yourself. Those would be Battle Dancer, Attack Pathing, and Synchronized Battle. If I'm being honest, even teaching you all those three, it would still feel like we are giving you the short end of the stick. It wouldn't take long for you to figure them out yourself," Peaches sighed.

"Empress, if I may?" Nimbus asked.

"You don't have to ask permission to talk. You know that," Hera rolled her eyes.

"No. I wish to ask for something myself. I'm not sure if it would be possible, but..."

"Oh. Sure, go for it," Hera nodded. The last time one of her court members asked for something, Daskka got a big upgrade, and it wasn't like she wasn't happy with the current reward. Being taught by the guides sounded like an honor in itself.

Nimbus smiled and turned to Peaches, "Would it be possible to teach me how to become Hera's wings? In a more literal sense than just carrying her around."

Peaches turned to Capri, who walked forward and flew around Nimbus a couple of times, "It may be possible. And being the one responsible for your birthplace. You shall have the magnificent me helping you with your next steps. Be warned. The reward wouldn't be enough to help you create a skill like that, but we might be able to give you a starting point."

"Would that be ok," Nimbus turned to Hera.

"Of course," Hera smiled at Nimbus, then turned to Peaches and the others, "So. How do we do this?"

"We already have a perfect place for this. It should take us only a couple of hours to get all three. Yeah, you are that close, kid. Now, who wants to start?" Peaches turned to the guides.