Hera and Helena came out of the forest again. For a place called ‘the Forest of Lost Souls’, it was surprisingly peaceful. They didn’t find a single monster in the entire area. No bugs either. Just the vegetation and a soft layer of mist that gave an ethereal feeling to everything.

The first enemy they found was that Orc man chasing after Yulan and Yuwei. They never learned the name of the ‘Young Master’ type Orc. And in all honesty, neither of them intended to waste time with that.

Here he was once more. Talking about how it would be an honor to warm his bed. While looking at Yulan and Yuwei with lecherous eyes.

Hera and Helena stepped forward, getting between him and the cart where the two Orc women were trying to hide.

Turning to the mage, the Empress asked, “Want to go first?”

“I think it’s better if you. Or Eira, in this case, to go first. My things are more destructive,” Helena replied.

“Oh? That’s a rare thing for you to say. Isn’t your whole kit about debuffs?” Hera smirked.

Helena made an exaggerated offended expression, “I’ll have you know that ever since I got my dual elements, I’ve been improving my damage capabilities. Thank you very much.”

Hera chuckled, “Ok, ok. Eira will go first. Are you ready?” she turned to the side. During the entire time, she was carrying the glaive while Glacia was sitting comfortably on her waist. The two ice based weapons were talking, discussing how to fight and what was more important about their skills. At the same time, the Empress also checked the attributes of the new court member one more time.

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Eira - Permafrost

Glaive

Attribute Scaling:

Empress Attribute: 177

Agility X 48.8 Strength X42.8 Endurance X 27.8

Intelligence X 5.3 Charisma X 5.3 Luck X 5.3

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Since it was a bound weapon, it got the maximum bonus to her attributes as she became part of the court.

‘I am, master Hera! I will make you and Senior Sister proud!’ Eira announced as she sprung to life, floating by the Empress’ side.

“Is… Is that supposed to intimidate me?” the Orc man asked while stepping back, clearly worried about seeing a flying weapon.

Hera didn’t say anything, but her annoyance was clear. Eira flew across the field, going for a wide swing that was skillfully dodged by the Orc. However, he didn’t expect the butt of the glaive to also be part of the attack. The blow hit the side of his face, making him stagger. Eira continued, spinning to the side and coming back in an upward swing that opened a large gash on the Orc’s torso.

“You lowly bitch!” the Orc snarled and jumped towards Hera.

‘You dare?!’ Eira shouted as she triggered [Permafrost Vortex] to freeze him in place. Cold air formed an almost invisible hurricane around Eira. It quickly enveloped the man and a thin layer of ice appeared. He wasn’t encased in frozen water, but instead it looked like he had jumped in a river and then stayed inside a freezer for a few hours. This meant that there was no extra protective layer on the man. Following that, Eira moved between the Orc and Hera before activating another skill. The edge of the glaive glowed in a cold light. The magic energy coalesced on the tip of the weapon and, with a mighty push, Eira triggered both [Frostbite Strike] and [Grasshopper Stab].

Hera noticed the move she was going for and added a single rule for the fight, ‘Try not to kill him.’

Shifting the aim a bit to the left, Eira shot forward, piercing the shoulder of the Orc. The impact created a hole where the man’s shoulder previously was located.

“That’s enough, Eira, come back,” Hera called. The glaive seemed a bit frustrated, but obeyed nonetheless, “You did great, but Lena also wants to test what she got.”

‘Very well,’ Eira nodded.

“Lena?”

“I mean, I’m not entirely sure what’s left for me to test, but ok,” the mage sighed and created a shadow bow on her hands. Pulling back the string, a light arrow appeared as she trailed at the Orc who was no longer frozen, but it seemed like the effect of reducing his defenses was still active.

Hera made a mental note of that. She assumed that if people were weaker than her, that defense reduction could last for a while longer, even if the freeze seemed to be fixed at 5 seconds. Helena let the arrow fly as the internal, yellow part of her robes started to glow ever so slightly. The [Balance of Power] skill activates to empower the light-based attacks. The spell slammed against the Orc’s leg, making a large hole already cauterized where the impact hit. Even if Helena was lower level than the room, this specific creature

“So the shadows are for defense, and light is for attack?” Hera turned to her friend.

“Yeah, my shadows work better for control based effects, so I’m leaning more into the light for actual combat. Also, step in front of me, I want to test the other skill,” Helena gestured to the position she wanted Hera to be at.

“Sure,” the Empress nodded and took a few steps forward, staying a bit to the side of the orc while still on the path of the skill. In addition, she also used her claws to make a small cut on the tip of her fingers. Something that wouldn’t take long to heal, but could be sped up if needed.

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“Why did you do that?” Helena gasped, seeing the small drop of blood on the Ophidianite’s finger.

“Just to check the skill properly. It says it heals, so we need to know how much.”

“Sweetie, I’m sure we will have many chances to test that. You didn’t have to hurt yourself like that.”

Hera just shrugged, “What is done is done. And this is nothing. So c’mon. Hit me so we can go get some food.”

Helena sighed and fired off [Harmony Wave] light and shadows coalescing around the sleeves of the robe before pouring out in a torrent that turned the entire surrounding area into a light show partially shrouded by darkness. As the magic washed over Hera, the small wound was quickly recovered and the powerful wave of light and shadow mana slammed on the orc, who dissolved before even hitting the ground, leaving some gold behind.

“So? What do you think?” Hera asked.

“It’s pretty great. Honestly, I couldn’t hope for a better piece of gear. And the defense scaling is just stupid. It’s really rare to find armor that scales this well with intelligence and agility. How about you?”

Hera turned to Eira, who also seemed to be expecting a review, “She is great. And fighting on her own, she was able to do a lot of damage. I can’t wait to see what she does when we are in a group.”

‘Thank you for the praise, Master! This Eira will be sure to do her very best to assist you.’

Satisfied with their new items, the pair turned back to the wagon that carried Yulan and Yuwei. They had to introduce themselves again, which was always something bittersweet. Especially when they were talking with those that became close to them. At least their initial interaction was very much the same. With the two Orc women in awe of their power. And once more, arriving at the Moonlit Harbor took only a few minutes. After a conversation, they closed the flaps of the wagon, and suddenly they were already there.

Since both Hera and Helena were hungry, they stopped by the restaurants to have a meal. Yulan paid for everything after all she had a large amount of money that could be used in the dungeon. After that, they asked Yuwei if she knew anything about an ice island which was more than enough for the Orc girl to spill the beans about her mother. This time, she even went through the trouble of explaining the entire situation. Including about how she had a special constitution that went directly against her mom’s and how they couldn’t touch anymore.

“Don’t worry. We can find that island, and we promise you will be able to see your mother soon,” Hera said with a smile, “But first, if you don’t mind answering a question. Do you know if your mom likes penguins or something?”

“Not as far as I know. Why?” Yuwei tilted her head.

“Oh, we are just looking for something. We don’t know exactly what it is, but it’s related to penguins. If either of you know anything about that, please let us know. Ok?” Helena asked.

“We will, master Helena!” Yulan said with a smile.

“Now, how about we head to the ice island? Unless you want to buy a gift for your mom,” Hera turned to Yuwei. The Orc woman nodded, and they spent an extra hour looking around for something for Master Yu.

Once that was over, they headed to harbor itself, seeing the Ghost Carp ship in the distance before starting their journey once more. Since this time they already knew where to go, Nimbus and Livy picked up the pace a bit, even if the Sentinel was forced to move slower to let the Leviathan keep up. However, they also changed something in their group. Hera and Helena were with Livy while Yulan and Yuwei rode Nimbus through the sky.

As soon as they arrived on the island, Nimbus landed near the ice beach for long enough for Vulcan, who already had received a Royal Quest along the Sentinel and rested on Hera’s lap, to get to his titled form, place Yuwei on his pouch and cast the fire armor around the two.

While Nimbus took off towards that hidden passage and Master Yu’s pagoda, Hera and Helena took the scenic route. They spent the next few hours exploring the island, killing monsters, and trying to find anything that could be related to penguins. The Empress also asked Ariadne a question two more times, but all her attempts resulted in nothing. It seemed like she would have to figure out how to trigger the hard mode without the relic’s help.

Eventually, they got to the pagoda, and met Master Yu. Who was still cold towards her daughter as she was when they first met in the other dungeon.

“I thank you for taking care of my daughter. However, you have endangered her by bringing her here,” Master Yu said.

Helena nodded, “We know, but in the end, it’s your fault.”

“What?”

“You abandoned her. Even if you argue that it wasn’t intentional, or that it’s better for her. Staying here and leaving her for years to grow without her mother is the same as abandoning her. When you really didn’t have to.”

“My touch can kill her. How is keeping my distance not a necessity?”

Hera sighed, “You could’ve talked with her. Even if you can’t touch her, you still can have a conversation, and tell her you love her. Something she might not even know. And before you say ‘of course she knows’ or something. Does she? Can you say for sure she knows that you, a mother who left several years ago, when she was still a toddler, love her? There was no need to stay this far for this long.”

Master Yu paused, “I am not entirely sure I agree with you, but you have given me much to ponder. Thank you. I hope you can stay for the night and in the morning I’ll call a friend of mine to help you reach your destination.”

“Thank you. By the way, are there any penguins on the island?” Helena asked.

“None that I am aware of. They only live to the north.”

“I see… it’s a shame, but thank you,” Helena nodded. Just before Master Yu asked for some privacy.

They spent the rest of the day going back and forth between exploring the island and checking with Yulan and Yuwei, but they were unable to find any hints about the hard mode. Eventually, night came, and they decided to rest in one of the pagoda rooms.

Hera and Helena were looking over the island under the moonlight hoping that this would finally help them get to the hard mode, but nothing.

“This really sucks. Ariadne said the hard mode was on this island, but there is nothing here,” Hera groaned.

“Maybe we should think about what the dungeon wants. My best guess is to help Master Yu break through the wall she is facing,” Helena said.

“I thought about that too. But I don’t have a clue how to even start.”

“Me neither. What was the hint again?” Helena asked.

“Consider the penguin,” Hera replied.

“What?” Master Yu’s voice came from behind them.

“What?” Hera turned around, “Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

“No… what did you just say?” Master Yu asked again.

“Consider the penguin?” Hera tilted her head.

“That… A colony that gathers in the winter facing the cold on the outside while keeping their eggs warm. That is…” Master Yu’s eyes glowed in a pale blue light and the icy winds surrounding the pagoda suddenly stopped. The ice that made up the entire place was still solid, but not as unrelenting as before. Now it was almost warm.

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You have unlocked the Hard Mode

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Master Yu’s eyes returned to normal, and she smiled to Helena and Hera, “Thank you,” before either of them could reply, the master dashed out, finding Yuwei and giving her daughter a long hug for the first time in years.