On a deadline

After the meeting, Hera went home to talk with her friends and family. A lot of things would happen right now, and she had to make sure everyone here would be okay. Everyone watched the guild's announcement. So they already knew part of what she had to say. Everyone was already aware of the deal she made with the other species. The deal was to be a part of a team to help out the inner parts of the MAZE during the war. In exchange, when the Ophidianites became a larger civilization, they would help them find their footing and give them a seat at their table. There was also Deakoshara, which could be a place where they could send people to be protected since Hera had the ability to open and close the doors surrounding the room. The Empress was almost sure that this played a much bigger part in their acceptance of her people than anything else, but she wasn't going to complain about that.

At least it wasn't all bad news. Shane was able to get her own [Ophidianite Scales] skill to rank 3 thanks to the essence she was drinking, and her dad was able to get the [Ophidianite Poison] skill, even if he never used any type of poison mana. Hera couldn't help but feel like it was fitting. [Naga Poison] was the first Naga skill she got, and her dad getting the same one made her feel a bit closer to Eridan. Quinn also started to take the essence, but she had yet to get any skills. The hairdresser wasn't sure if she was going to become an Ophidianite or not, but she was open to the possibility, unlike the rest of the group, who were interested in the skills but not in the change of species.

As they were eating lunch, Hera told everyone her plans for the next few days, "So. I know I'm going away again soon, but I need to complete this quest for now. I need to solve Scryotra's resentment. I'm also open to any ideas. You don't have to tell me right now since I'm going back to the dungeon just after we eat. But I'll appreciate any suggestions."

"What happens if you don't complete it?" Renette asked.

"The resentment stays like it is. Giving a debuff to me and making monsters more hostile. I also get fewer rewards from any dungeons I go to, which will be a problem for this mission. I'm sure of it."

"Can't you just drop the resentment somewhere? If you don't complete the quest, I mean." Alex suggested.

"Probably, but then it might end up coming back to me. I don't want to make a scenario where I suddenly discover that a random person somehow came in possession of the rock, and now we are in the middle of a rampage with them by my side," Hera replied.

"Oh, c'mon. The odds of that happening are almost zero," Shane rolled her eyes.

"Shane, I'm the first member of a new species. I have a legacy, three titles, and I'm partially responsible for the discovery not just of the Naga capital but also of an entire civilization of dwarves who were living on their own for hundreds of years. I don't think the odds really apply to me. Besides, I think my silver lining skill makes weird things more likely to happen, so yeah. I'm not taking any chances."

Shane paused for a moment but then nodded, "Point taken."

"Why don't you drop it in a dungeon then?" Mylo suggested.

"What?" Hera turned to the fighter.

"Drop it in a dungeon. Go alone there, toss the resentment inside, and leave. Then, even if the area of effect can leave the dungeon, all you have to do is stay away from that place. It is not like someone else will be able to enter that dungeon and find the resentment."

"That's actually a really good idea. People do that kind of thing with cursed items. But like he said, this means you can never go back to the dungeon. I mean, you can, but it will be like you never left it," Helena smiled at Mylo.

"So it will be like if I sent Nimbus or Lurize to the dungeon by themselves?" Hera asked.

"You can do that?" Renette gasped.

"Yeah, we tested it a while back, and it worked great. But if I try to go to the same dungeon, I just enter the one they are doing. I'm not sure if I can go to another dungeon while they are already in one. We never had a chance to try that," Hera explained.

They finished their meal, and the Empress headed out. Bonnie, Helena, and Alex also mentioned that they would be spending the night in that leading to Scryotra's bones. Lena's camera had captured something during the night. There was a moment when the moonlight hit the central rock in the right spot, and the light bounced directly at the holes in the side of the cave. Unfortunately, they didn't set up any cameras outside, meaning they had no way to figure out where that light pointed with only the images they had. Thankfully, that light didn't seem to be related to the moon, which meant they didn't have to worry about missing the day when the light appeared. Cloudy skies were the only thing that could stop their plans. But Hera took care of their worries, asking Yarnball about the weather of the room in the next couple of days. For the next two days, the skies would be mostly clear during the night, only with some spread-out clouds. Her mana only allowed her that much for now, but it was good to know that she could use Yarnball like that. She never tried to do that after the Abyssal Deep, but in hindsight, her phrasing of the question was wrong. Instead of asking about the weather that day, she would ask if a storm was coming.

The Empress also asked if anyone wanted to go along with her, but no one wanted to run that dungeon over and over again. Shane was the only one slightly interested, but she wanted to run the dungeon properly to learn more about the Naga, not just try to save Scryotra. Hera also asked the rest of the Royal Explorers. Legan and Trillian were a bit interested in the idea, but they had other things to do with the rest of the team. Because of the declaration of war, the entire city was focusing on beefing up its defenses. Even Typhera was sending a team here to help with that. She had already suggested that a while back, but since the dwarves were still settling themselves here, Rutigan asked for time. Unfortunately, that was something they didn't have anymore.

In the end, she went alone, which had its good side. For one, she could reach there really quickly, thanks to Nimbus. And she wouldn't have to worry about attracting monsters because of the resentment. After all, the room didn't have any flying monsters, as far as she was aware. Because there was only one week until her new party arrived, Hera just bolted to the dungeon as soon as she confirmed she would be going alone.

Less than 20 minutes later, she was already flying above the area where the dungeon was located. She was trying to see if there were any monsters around, but she couldn't see any. Even worse, she couldn't see any of the stealth spirits around. They were already hard to find by default, and the Empress was sure she was only able to notice them because they allowed her to do so.

She was worried about going down there, but without any other options, the Empress told Nimbus to fly down to the entrance of the dungeon. When they arrived at the mouth of the cave, Hera couldn't believe her eyes. There was a wall there with a few scratches and broken parts. This looked nothing like the dungeon she knew, and it made no sense for there to be a wall there. Faced with that unexpected scenery, the Ophidianite hesitated for a moment. That brief pause was enough for the stealth spirits who prepared this trap to attack. They jumped on her back with sharp claws, trying to get through her armor. Each of the spirits had a different form, from oddly shaped ravens with beaks much longer than they should be to squirrels with large claws in their hands and fangs like a snake. Those small critters also packed a punch, being able to increase the power of their attacks when they caught a target by surprise. Unfortunately for them, Hera's level was considerably higher, and she had a few powerful defensive skills. Each blow hurt like hell, but it wasn't enough to deal any significant amount of damage. Not to her body, at least. The repeated impact was also enough to push Nimbus towards the wall.

The Sentinel passed through the stones, revealing that this was an illusion. Behind it, there was the wooden door that would lead to the dungeon. That information was passed along to Hera instantly, and she decided to ignore the spirits and just enter the dungeon right away. Her fear was that if she fought against those spirits, they would hold a grudge even after the resentment was gone. Since to make a new titled blade, one of the requirements was to get a spirit on her side, the Empress was considering trying to get a new member of her court here. Not that this would happen right now. Instead, after the war was over, she could start the long process of binding to a spirit in order to get a new titled blade.

As soon as she touched the door, the dungeon notification popped up, and Hera pressed yes. Doing so, the door was unlocked, and she rushed inside. Nimbus was quickly dismissed to make sure he wouldn't get more hurt because of the spirits. After taking a moment to gather herself, the Empress took a deep breath and started heading towards the small forest in front of her while calling out her court.

"OK, here is the plan. We walk inside that central hut, and then we steal Scryotra from Dormina as she is running away. " Hera explained to them as they walked. In just a few minutes, it was time to put the plan into action. Unfortunately, during the initial strike of the Naga empire, everyone was too scattered, and by the time the Empress was able to find Dormina, the cultist leader was already jumping inside the tunnel. Frustrated, the Ophidianite walked back to the entrance of the dungeon, killing the Naga army who was in her path before entering again to reset the place.

"New plan. We kill the attacking army and then call Dormina back. Then we steal Scryotra," Hera said with an annoyed voice. When the siege in the village began the entire court went wild. They decimated the entire army of Naga, and Hera used the pool of Styx to remove the dungeon monster's attributes. And Livy had another to go in a frenzy, spending all her mana on big skills that wiped our large groups at once. Again, this didn't work. After all the invading Naga were dead, she tried to call the cultist back, but no one answered. Once again, Hera left the dungeon for the reset.

"Right… so let's just attack the cultists. I didn't want to do that but fuck it," Hera huffed. This time, the moment she entered the central hut, she jumped at Dormina. Once more, her plans were foiled as the other Naga inside jumped to her defense. It didn't take long for the Empress to kill the people trying to stop her, but when she was done, the Naga Empire attacked, giving the cultist leader enough time for her to run away. Resetting the dungeon one more time, she came up with a new plan.

"Ok. We going to go through the back wall of the hut. Livy, you break the place open, and everyone goes for Scryotra," Hera was rubbing her eyes, not expecting to have so much trouble just to save the guardian beast.

Finally, the plan seemed to work. The Empress had to kill all the cultists and then the entire Naga army, all the while making sure to protect the monster, but she was able to save it. Yet, nothing seemed to happen. There was no notification; the resentment was still the same, and Scryotra just moved around like a bug. Unsure what she was doing wrong, the Empress just sat down on the plains overlooking the village and the ruins of the siege weapons the Naga army brought while trying to figure out what to do next.