Stacking rewards

Hera pulled up the rewards app on her tablet and touched the 'Relic Upgrade' option.

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Choose what aspect of your relic you would like to upgrade.

Returning String

Danger Sense

Dowsing Rod

Loose Thread

New ability

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"Is it better to get a new ability or upgrade the ones you already have?" Hera turned to Shane.

"It depends. You can't pick the new ability, but it's usually something that fits what you do. But it will be just as weak as the first abilities the relic had. Upgrading usually gives a major buff or makes something change significantly. Also, do you have any rewards, items, or effects that increase your luck or say something along the lines of 'improve quality of rewards'?" Shane turned to Hera.

"I don't think so," Hera looked through her stuff, but there was nothing there. She noticed, however, that the tarot card seemed to be complete. The Three of Stars card that she first got had an effect that would increase her luck-based skills for one hour. The true reversed form could show something different. The card itself was mostly the same A large playing card depicting a figure with sharp cold eyes and reddish skin, wearing a twisted smile that made it seem like a sadistic serial killer. In the background, there seemed to be windows covered in blood and the light of a half-moon. However, now it looked animated. The stars were shimmering in the sky, the cold eyes had some mist around them, and the smile twitched. But the card was upside down, this was the normal version, and hers was the reversed one.

Hera flipped the card and realized that the moon was, in fact, a reflection on top of the water. The cold eyes hid something beneath the lake locked behind bars that were connected at two large ruby pillars on each side. The reddish skin that hid the creature was a massive mountain that grew on the back of the card, with part of it reflected on the water. What once was that eerie smile was now the shore, with waves crashing by the sand. It was a beautiful card, and Hera almost felt bad for thinking about using it. Still, she had to confirm what the card actually did.

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Kul Dorul Tarot

True Reversed Three of Stars - Major Arcana

This card represents the hidden monster within all things. When activated, this card can reveal a hidden strength that lurks in the depths.

By adding mana to the card, you can trigger its effects.

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"Well… that isn't very helpful. At least not to explain what is going to do," Hera sighed.

"What?"

"It just says that reveals a hidden strength."

"I mean, what's the problem with using it then? Even if it doesn't affect the upgrade, you will get something," Shane suggested.

"Well, that's true. And if I leave that for later, I guess I'll forget all about it."

"Ait that the truth. I have a bunch of stuff laying back home that I can't even remember what it does," Shane chuckled.

Hera gave a weak smile and turned back to the card, putting some of her mana into it. The card glowed, and the eyes blinked. Ripples started to form from around the cage, and with a flash, the card changed again. The cage was broken, and the mountain now had a massive bite mark, almost as if something impossibly huge wanted to eat it as a snack. Everything was still moving, the water and the waves were still there, and the sky behind the mountain showed some start twinkling, but that was it. Hera didn't feel anything happen, nor did any windows pop out.

She was about to open her status when she stopped. Maybe the card would show that hidden strength of whatever she did next. Shane said that the upgrade could stack, so she might as well try it. The reward window was still opened on her tablet, and she took a look at it again.

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Choose what aspect of your relic you would like to upgrade.

Returning String

Danger Sense

Dowsing Rod

Loose Thread

New ability

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The easiest way to go about it was to figure out what she didn't want. Danger Sense was nice, but she already had her sensory net. Getting another way to look for monsters nearby seemed unnecessary. A new ability could be good, but at the same time, it would be another thing for her to remember to use. Some of her spells and skill already hardly ever saw the light of day, and she had to fix that. Adding another thing to the mix wouldn't help. It was now between the Returning String and the Dowsing Rod. For a long time, the string was part of her primary combat style, but ever since she got her second handaxe from Silah, she preferred to go for dual-wielding than using her chakram. Not to mention that now that she would get her own clue about a legacy, having a way to have a limited use guide question would be amazing. Lastly, Loose Thread was something she hardly ever used. It's been a very long time since she was on the defending end of a fight, and making a trap in the middle of combat was something she didn't know how.

Decided, Hera touched the Dowsing Rod option. The True Reversed Three of Stars appeared in front of the tablet in its original form. Hera was still holding the card in one hand, but what she was seeing was a form made out of energy. The spectral card shattered, and the shards flew towards the Dowsing Rod option on her tablet. As if the screen was glitching, the name blinked a couple of times and changed to Magic Ball, and the reward window closed.

Hera pulled up Yarnball and saw that now it had a glossy black color and a small screen on the side of the case. Opening the lid, the thread was semi-transparent as well.

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Yarnball - Explorer's relic

An extremely resilient string that takes its strength from its owner. It can return any objects attached to it to the user, be used as a dowsing rod, or as a threat alarm.

Passive effects:

Returning string:

If an object is tied to the string when thrown, the object will return to the case after reaching the maximum distance of the string.

Current maximum distance: 20 Meters

Danger sense:

When the object is near a monster, it pulses according to the distance of the creature. It can detect monsters that are hidden. The range of this effect depends on its owner's strength. If the monster is on your hunter's catalogue, you are more likely to detect it

Current range: 10 meters

Range while hidden: 20 meters

Active effect:

Magic Ball

By injecting mana into Yarnball, asking a question, then shaking it. You can ask a question and receive a reply through the screen on the side of the case. The amount of mana required for each answer will vary, and if not enough mana is used, the reply won't be of much use. If the question is related to a location or something too big for the screen, the information will show in your [Treasure Map]. The accuracy of the question depends on the owner's strength.

Cooldown: 2 hours

If this effect is used to find a living creature, the cooldown is reduced to 1 hour.

Loose thread

You can cut off thread from Yarnball. During the first 24 hours, you can feel the thread as if it was part of your own mana. The string can be easily imbued with different mana for various effects.

Every 2 hours, 1 meter of thread will be generated, up to a maximum of 20 meters.

You can insert 50% of your maximum mana inside Yarnball to speed up the creation of 3 meters of thread.

Current thread available: 30 meters

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"What the…" Hera kept staring at the new version of Yarnball. She expected something to happen, but even in her wildest expectations, she didn't expect that the cooldown would become so small. Before this upgrade, it took 5 days for her to be able to use the ability again. Now she can do it once every couple of hours, and by the description, if she didn't have enough mana, Yarnball wouldn't drain her like it used to. It would just give an answer that wouldn't help.

Shane leaned over, "Damn, I didn't even see that changing. It looks cool now."

"Yeah, hang on," Hera looked at the screen and put about half of her mana inside it, "Are we missing any secrets in this tomb?"

She shook Yarnball and looked at the screen. From the black background, a green triangle appeared with the words 'Signs point to yes.'

"You gotta be kidding me," Hera sighed.

"Is that… a magic 8 ball?" Shane chuckled.

"It seems like it, and I can use it once every two hours. I just hope that it doesn't give those weird replies that an 8 ball would give," Hera put the relic away and noticed how drained she felt. Looking around, she realized that this whole time she kept the soundproof barrier on. Because of the size of the spell, it was constantly chipping off her mana, and now that she used so much for the question, it was clear that she was almost tapped out.

"Man, this thing is amazing!" Shane was still looking at her jade gauntlet, which was now glowing in different colors.

"Yeah, it's cool. Now I really want to rest and eat something. I'm heading back," Hera remembered the reason Shane called her here and got worried. She was supposed just to come to have a talk, and she's coming back with a bunch of upgrades, upgrades that Shane also got. Hera could only hope that this wouldn't cause any more problems.

Coming back, the group was still split up. Mylo was alone in a tunnel closest to the exit, while the rest were closest to the tomb. There was a tense moment when Shane passed by the group where everyone just stared at her. After that, Hera took the time to first apologize to everyone and explain what happened. To her surprise, no one complained about the rewards, and they were all excited about what she got. Bonnie asked about the tarot card, and Hera still had it. However, the description made it clear that the effect was spent and wouldn't be able to be used again. Another interesting detail was that the tarot card now was double-sided. On the front, it was the normal picture of the lake with the monster in the underwater cage. On the back, it was the same picture that appeared after Hera used the card. The broken cage with the bitten mountain.

They talked for a while, ate, and Hera even was able to get another question out of Yarnball. This time, she just asked if the skull coin that could be used to open the compartment where the journal was located was inside this room. This time she put around 1 000 mana and got the answer. It wasn't just a yes either, but a complete sentence.

'Yes, the skull coin in question is located inside the Wailing Valley.'

Hera still would have to make some tests, but it seemed like that when she used enough mana for a question, the answer was more direct than the 'signs point to yes' that she saw before. After trying that, Hera kept going to finish her lookout shift before sleeping. They would return to the outpost on the next day, and if everything worked out the way it should, in a couple of days, they would be back in Boothudurn, and she could get her own clue about a legacy from Ninleyn. Not to mention having a moment to rest and seeing if everyone in her party was doing well.

After that, well, the MAZE was her oyster.