Hera had Nimbus bring her down to the ground, far away from the bridge, where her body double was splattered on the floor. She saw Blue parting the clouds and then leaving, letting the mist return to its place.
'I hope this works,' the Empress said to Nimbus without saying it out loud.
'I'm sure it will. Lurize seems to already be in position,' the Sentinel nodded. He could feel the Royal Tutor inside Bonnie's pouch. Unless the cameras they were using had some sort of very sensitive mana sensor, he should be fine.
They waited for a few minutes there, still hiding at the bottom of the ravine. It was likely that they wouldn't have to worry about being seen now that Blue already dropped her spell. But it was better to be safe than sorry. They waited for around 20 minutes, just talking in their minds and moving as little as possible to avoid disturbing the clouds which were quite unique in this dungeon. Any attempts of going over them to reach the other side of the bridge would be stopped, but if they were already inside, Nimbus could fly freely. Interestingly enough, if he tried to leave the cloud, the bouncy barrier that would stop him from getting out was the same one that would prevent him from getting in.
When Hera felt safe to move again, Nimbus carried her back to the bridge, and she headed towards the center of the dungeon. This place was split into several rings, with the outer layer being more like individual islands than a full encirclement. No monsters roamed near the entrance or around the central peak. But every other island was fair game. The clouds would also push monsters away, which meant that the ravines were safe as long as no monster chased after someone through the bridges. Again, this had an exception. On the northeast corner of the dungeon, directly opposite the entrance, there was a nest hidden by the clouds. In there lived a powerful Water Elemental shaped like a manta ray. During the first day of the dungeon, it would never leave its nest and then only travel along the clouds, using some tiny underground tunnels to change rings. Despite being the second strongest being in this dungeon, the manta ray would never attack first. Hera found out the hard way that the creature wasn't a pushover. Around two weeks after getting here, she decided to attack it out of boredom and anger, but the fight was brutal. The elemental was able to control the water particles in the cloud at will and use it to fight. She couldn't even win that battle, having to run back to the tallest mountain in the center of the dungeon. When the elemental continued the attack, the old master appeared and killed the monster. His name was Grasshopper, and the irony wasn't lost on Hera. The master was still kind enough to heal her wounds, but he refused to communicate with her after it and a notification let her know she failed the quest. She had to leave the dungeon and enter again to reset everything.
Aside from the week she arrived, Hera and her court never stopped training during the four and a half months she was here. Initially, she just searched for a house and spent some days in mourning. If it wasn't for Lurize, Livy, and Nimbus taking care of her, she might have hurt her body too much. The Empress didn't seem to have the strength to eat in those initial seven days. The pain and guilt of what happened with Silah destroyed her from the inside. Daskka and the entire court tried talking with her to help, but the progress was extremely slow. What changed her was the news that Lurize brought after his first outing. The guild had identified Hera and was already preparing the reports that she was the mastermind behind the prison break. They were even putting the blame for all the deaths, both of the guards and the fugitives, on her. Hearing that the guild had the gall to say that she was the one who killed Silah, even if indirectly, sparked a fire inside her. A fire that quickly turned into anger. That was part of the reason she tried to fight the manta ray without knowing its strength. Then, Hera kept fighting relentlessly against all the monsters in the dungeon. Since they would respawn every sunrise, she didn't have to worry about leaving. After the first month, her route was so well optimized that she could kill every single creature in this place before 5 P.M., with the only exception being the manta ray. But that wasn't enough to soothe her anger. The Empress would climb the mountain halfway to a training area and continue practicing. Sparing with Nimbus, Lurize, and Livy, or just hitting a stone dummy over and over again.
On the fifth day, when she was already comfortable in that routine, Grasshopper came by the training area. He was bipedal and had arms and hands with five fingers, but his head was almost a cartoon version of a mantis. Something that would appear in a kid's show, with large eyes that were much closer to that of a person than a bug. He also had a humanoid mouth and a bushy beard with prominent gray sideburns. He didn't say a thing and just watched her as she practiced with her court.
When she was done, Grasshopper just shook his head and started walking off.
"What!? You came here just to watch my training, and now you are judging me?" Hera snarled, annoyed not just with the old mantis but also for not feeling any progress with her training. She was even able to level up once but felt nothing different.
"That is no training. You are a child just venting your anger. No, a child knows no better. They still need to learn to control their emotions," Grasshopper turned to the Empress, holding his hands behind his back.
"Oh, sure. Way to be a cliché. 'Emotions are bad. You shouldn't have them.' Fuck that!" Hera turned back to the dummy and started to wail at it with one of her Venomous swords. Each sentence was followed by an attack. "Being afraid kept me alive. Being worried made me see ambushes. Being sad makes me think about the worst-case scenario. Being happy makes me excited and willing to try new things, and being angry," Hera yelled and used her weapon break, obliterating the stone dummy, "Makes me strong! If I wasn't angry, the pain in my arm would've stopped me."
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Grasshopper shook his head, "I said to control your emotions, not abandon them," he walked closer to another of the dummies, revealing a blade that came from his left wrist like the arm of a praying mantis, "Fear tells you when to run, but too much will hinder you," Hera felt something around her throat, a sense of pure dread. She tried moving away but couldn't, her legs frozen on the spot. Not even her court could move. This wasn't a magical effect or anything. It was more primal. A fight or flight response that was stuck before the decision was made.
"Worry might help you see traps. But too much caution will make you lose the opportunity to strike or run," Grasshopper appeared before Hera, his bladed arm almost reaching her throat.
"Sadness makes you think, but if you never leave your mind, you will fail to act."
Hearing that, the Empress forced herself to move, trying to kick Grasshopper away and telling her court to surround him.
"Happiness will bring excitement, but that will also distract you."
Hera felt mana moving behind her and jumped forward, tumbling closer to Nimbus and Lurize. She saw another Grasshopper behind her but quickly realized the first one was just an illusion.
"Anger will let you go past your limits, but if you fail, that recklessness will spell your doom," Grasshopper vanished again and lightly tapped on Hera's arm. The same one she used to strike the dummy. A sharp pain shot through her entire body as if her muscles were being ripped apart.
"Fuck! Why are you doing this?!" Hera yelled as she fell to the ground, feeling powerless against this person. Her court jumped to protect her, but the Grasshopper waved, forcing them all to back away and freeze in place.
"Balance. You've brought too much pain and now must have that pain delivered to you."
"Pain?! To whom? The monsters of this place? Were they your pets or something?" Hera snarled between her teeth.
"No. Your emotions brought pain. This kind of pain does not bother me," Grasshopper lowered his body to be closer to Hera and pointed to the side, where her titled blades and Daskka were currently struggling against his power, "But they, they feel the same pain you do."
Hera froze and looked at her court for the first time in weeks. Actually looked at them. Lurize's armor was full of scratches and dents. Nimbus' wings had some feathers missing, and his pants were in tatters. Livy was covered in bruises and had several scales missing. Daskka had some cuts around her body that forced her to wrap herself in mist to stop leaking mana. It was clear that they never returned to the legacy ever since they got here.
"What…why?" Hera felt her hands trembling.
"They are afraid. Too afraid to leave you alone. Too sad to worry about themselves. Too worried to say anything. Too angry to think properly," as Grasshopper spoke, Hera looked up towards him, "You lack balance. Emotions can help you fight, but an excess will hinder you. In the same way, the lack of emotions can seem good, but without them, you lose sight of who you are. Your skills and powers will be little more than machines. Life is about balance, and you have none."
Hera felt all that pressure leave her body and rushed to her court, apologizing and asking them to get back so they could heal. They refused at first, but when Grasshopper promised he would be talking with Hera for a few hours, they all accepted. The Empress wasn't going to be alone, and the old master seemed to be really trying to help in his own way.
This was their first interaction, and during the course of the next months, Hera and her court were trained by Grasshopper. He didn't teach her any new skills, instead only focusing on improving the skills she already had. In addition, the old master taught some meditation techniques that helped a lot with her mana regeneration. When the Empress finally decided to challenge the Manta Ray, a week before, she would 'die' at the hands of her friends. Grasshopper followed her to watch, yelling some advice to fight against the creature. Eventually, she managed to kill it, but even then, she couldn't complete the dungeon quest.
Sadly, when she came back from her pretend death. Grasshopper had forgotten all about her. Still, the Empress decided to continue her routine. This time, she would also visit the master in his home with some of her food. Instead of asking for training or anything, she just talked with him, taking some time to relax. Even when he decided to pay back the favor and visit her, she stopped her practice session when Grasshopper arrived, never asking for his help.
When the week ended, it was time for her to go to the doorway to talk with Tara. She went back to the master one last time to say her goodbyes. This time, however, Grasshopper was nowhere to be seen. But he left behind a book. When she reached out to grab it, imagining it would be some sort of letter or diary, a notification popped up, letting her know the quest was over. She earned the master's recognition, and he left this place in her hands. The reward was something very unique. A pair of skills.
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Grasshopper Slash (Rank 1)
You are able to deal a single powerful blow using the technique passed down by the master Grasshopper. The better you follow the technique and the more mana used in the attack, the stronger it will be.
Damage x 1 for each 10 thousand mana used.
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Grasshopper Stab (Rank 1)
You are able to deal a single powerful blow using the technique passed down by the master Grasshopper. The better you follow the technique and the more mana used in the attack, the stronger it will be.
Damage x 1 for each 10 thousand mana used.
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Hera smiled and thanked Grasshopper out loud before going back to the entrance. It was time to leave this place, and for Hera Kingsley to cease to exist.