"You know. I thought this was going to taste awful, but it's kind of growing on me," Vash said with a smile, and he slowly glided beside the rest of the group to stretch his wings a bit.
"Me too. I'm still trying to figure out what that taste is," Neria looked over the small vial of essence that was now empty.
"A few friends and I talked about this. We figured out it tasted like tap water. Like clean tap water, with that hint of metal coming from the pipes," Hera replied as she stretched. They were all in a carriage made by Flint while Nimbus pulled them along. The sentinel was strong enough to do that without a problem, even if that meant he would need to rest for a while before being able to fight. The Empress offered to make the carriage herself, but the version made by the dwarf was not just cheaper but much better. It had a proper suspension and an intricate set of gears that would assist with the movement by using the rotation of the front wheels to rotate the ones in the back. Using something like that rescued the maximum speed that the carriage could reach, but they were not in a sprint at the moment, but a marathon.
"That's it!" Skylar gasped, "It feels like we are drinking through a metal straw!"
"Yeah, now that you mention it, I can taste it," Roan nodded.
"Is it really ok for us to be drinking this? And using the bracelets?" Flint turned to Hera.
"Are you asking because none of you want to become Ophidianites?" Hera asked, her tail dangling outside of the carriage being caressed by the wind.
"Well… yes," Flint admitted.
"It's fine," Hera waved him off, "Even if you don't want to become an Ophidianite, the skills can help. And we need all the help we can get. Besides, I left four of those back in Zaxalam. I decided to keep one with me just in case. Who knows, maybe I'll find someone who really wants to join my species. As long as I can have my own essence, I'm okay with sharing."
"Fair enough, and I do appreciate you giving us the chance to get those skills. Most of the skills you talked about should help us a lot. The poison one is the only one I'm iffy about," Flint replied.
"I'm more worried about the scales. The look is great for you, Hera, but I don't know if I would like to have them," Skyler looked at her arms.
"You don't have to. Even when mine got to rank 6, it wasn't showing. Well, it was, but you had to be at the right angle against the light and be paying really close attention. And I mean really close," Hera explained as they continued to move with the carriage.
Just before leaving the Aerie of the First Flight, Queen Typhera told the group to keep with the three-crossing rule. They didn't have the luxury to risk one of them getting stuck somewhere. It had been two days since they started traveling, and tomorrow, they would be at their destination, the Krashak Plains. It was just a shame that this was the third room of the day, meaning they wouldn't be able to sleep in Hera's private room. Then again, Flint was able to make some pretty decent camps with his crafting skill, and Hera could reinforce any defenses with her stone walls. Not to mention have her court members staying on the lookout for monsters. The blades who stayed up all night would need to rest after it, but just a couple of hours would be more than enough for them, instead of the full 8 hours of sleep that the non-construct party members would require.
Despite that, the rest of the party offered to share that burden. They offered to be part of the rotation so everyone could have their full rest, even if Hera herself wouldn't be bothered by her court being out. The Empress accepted that, especially since it would be a good way to bond with the other members, but on days like today, things were different. Tomorrow, they would have to chase a wendigo, and all of them needed to be in the best shape possible for it. Even if the monsters were from a room in the 11th layer.
When they were about 10 kilometers away from the doorway, Hera felt her tablet vibrate. It was an alarm that she had set up to ring every 2 hours. After turning it off, she reached Ariadne . Noticing that Roan asked, "Are you going to ask another question?"
"Yeah," Hera nodded.
"Can you give us a review of what you already figured out?" Neria requested. Despite the comfort, the carriage was small, and it was hard to have any conversations that everyone couldn't hear.
"Sure. We know the wendigo already is stronger than the maximum level of the layer. So the level is higher than 31. It's using the tunnels that the rabbits in the room made to hide, and it has already changed the entire color of its body. This means that it ate enough to be something completely different from its original form. Also, it has killed at least one explorer. I tried asking about the number, but it wasn't working, so either it is on the double digits, or the the information about the exact number costs more than my entire mana pool. Now I'm trying to narrow down the area where the wendigo is," the Ophidianite showed the map on her tablet. It was split into a grid of 8 x 8, "The last question told me it was on the left side of the map. So now I made things smaller, and I'm going to ask if it is to the right or left of the second column."
"Wouldn't that be a waste? I mean, if we are only getting there tomorrow, what's the point?" Vash landed on the carriage.
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"It has to leave tracks. There are no monsters and no missing explorers in the area that can completely cover their tracks," Roan explained since he helped Hera come up with the questions, "If we have a starting point tomorrow, it will be easier than having to comb through the entire room."
"Especially since we are dealing with a place covered in tunnels. From the information we have, the city had to be built with a large metal dome underneath it to avoid having those rabbits dug directly under them," Flint added.
"I also have one other skill, the one some explorers have to find things out. But it will be a bit of a gamble. If I use it right away, I might be able to narrow down the location of the wendigo, or I might waste it completely and have to use it to gather other types of information," Hera finished explaining and asked the question she said she would ask. The visor in Ariadne lit up, and the word 'Neither' appeared.
"Does that mean you didn't get an answer?" Skylar asked.
Hera smiled. "Nope. That's the best answer I could've gotten. I asked if the wendigo was to the left or to the right of the second column. Neither means it is on the second column," showing the map to everyone, they noticed that there was a large chunk of that area marked as a habitat for the stronger kind of rabbit, as well as the Pyramid Crows who had pyramid-shaped beaks that opened in three sides. They were very intelligent and could shriek to disorient their prey or even mimic other voices. On the corners of the room, the terrain became more rock, and caves were hard to come by. The only ones there were larger and were created by the rain passing through the cracks in the ground and leaving beyond the invisible wall of the room.
"That's great!" Vash gasped, "It means that we can try to narrow it down even more tomorrow. Then you just need to ask if the Wendigo is still in the same place or not. Right?"
"I would have to phrase the question a bit differently, but yeah," Hera smiled.
The group continued with their travel, bouncing back and forth between discussing strategies and getting to know each other better. Skylar and Vash quickly became friends due to their melodic combat style, but they didn't share the same taste in music. Vash was more of an electronic and EDM kind of guy, while Skylar preferred ballads or bossa nova. Roan really liked rap, and his love for classic rock was shared by Flint and Neria, but the country was enjoyed only by the dwarf.
On the flip side, they realized that their front line was much stronger than their back line. Neria, Skylar, and Vash could function as the artillery, and they were supposed to have another 3 members as front liners. Roan, Flint, and Hera. But when adding the court, the scales tipped heavily toward melee. Nimbus, Lurize, Livy, Viper, and Crimson all fought with their weapons, and there was no mid-range option among them. In the end, the Empress decided to have Nimbus working as a backline support. He would try to protect the three in the back, using his shield spells and skills to stop any incoming attacks. Lurize also noticed the imbalance and was currently trying to teach all the titled blades, including himself, how to use long-range spells. Things like Hera's poison needle or basic elemental blasts. During most of the trip, they would be in their weapon forms, trying to learn how to use mana differently while getting some advice from Hera and Daskka. They had the freedom to learn spells on their own, and it was time they actually took advantage of it.
When they finally arrived at the doorway, they prepared their camp and rested for the night. Hera continued asking Ariadne questions, but it seemed like the wendigo was on the move. She was first able to narrow it down between lines D and E, but then when she asked a question to determine which of the lines it was, she got an answer that it wasn't in either of those. The Krashak Plains was not a large room, being only around 15 km², so traveling even from the opposite edge of the D line to the F line in 2 hours wouldn't be hard, even at a walking pace.
Before dinner, the group took another chance to show off their skills just to share what they could do like the previous day, but everyone was aware that this hunt would be a problem, not just because it was a wendigo. They didn't have a chance to practice their teamwork. Be it in dungeons or just fighting random monsters. Milla explained through texts that the intention was to let them get used to each other first. However, when the information about the Wendigo came to light, they decided to send the closest team immediately. To fight one of those creatures, time was of the essence, and this one was already alive for longer than anyone would like it to be.
The entire group was feeling a bit anxious, and when Vash offered to sing them all a lullaby, added with a spell to help them sleep better, no one refused. Viper and Crimson stayed awake to make sure nothing tried anything during the night, and soon, morning came.
The Krashak Plains was a vast expanse adorned in a tapestry of vibrant greens that stretched as far as the eye could see. This expansive land was adorned with undulating grassy knolls, their emerald blades swaying in the gentle breeze that swept across the open field. The scent of damp earth and wildflowers lingered in the air, bringing memories of picnics and parks to those who had them.
In the center of this landscape lay the solitary city, a haven amidst the natural splendor. Its structures were fashioned from locally quarried stone and yellow timber from the neighboring room. The city's walls rose proudly, a testament to the resilience of its inhabitants against the dangers that lurked beyond its protective embrace.
Yet, amid this serene beauty, an underlying tension pervaded the plains. Large, labyrinthine caves honeycombed the earth beneath, a hidden realm where the colossal rabbits dwelled in shadowy depths. These Behemoth Bunnies, a formidable menace, had carved out their underground sanctuaries, their existence shrouded in mystery and danger. Few dared to venture into the labyrinth of tunnels these creatures called home. Facing those creatures in the open ground was a trivial thing for most capable of reaching this place, but attempting to raid their domain would bring down even a seasoned hunter.
Adding to the peril were the Pyramid Crows, sinister silhouettes that dotted the skies with their ominous presence. Their caws carried a chilling warning, serving as sentinels to the unwary, ever-watchful for an opportunity to strike. Luring those fools enough to be caught in their imitation to their inevitable doom. The edges of the plains, where the verdant grasslands met the jagged terrain, marked a transition into a foreboding landscape. Cracked rocks, weathered by time and tempests, jutted from the earth sporadically, bearing witness to an ancient upheaval. Here, large caves pockmarked the landscape, their dark mouths hinting at the unknown depths that lay beyond. And in the middle of all of this, there was a creature capable of unparalleled growth. A being that would become more powerful the more it was able to devour be it a monster, plant, or person. A wendigo.