MAZE - The Endless Quest

They had been walking for some time already. Before heading out, the group bought some food rations and a few potions. Each of them had a simple recovery potion that could be useful in dealing with any cuts and bruises. Hera also got a general antidote for various poisons and a pseudo flame tongue oil that could cause minor burns to the enemy when applied to a weapon. She wasn"t sure if the oil would actually help, but they needed something to get an extra potion with the purchase.

"Right here, if we go to the right, we should reach the ruins," Hera said, walking inside the forest.

"Are you sure? We haven"t heard any creature for a while," Blue said.

"According to the map, yes, if the map is wrong or not, I can"t say."

"Besides, if there really are ruins here, we should be happy that there aren"t any monsters around," Alex said, following Hera.

"You are just happy there aren"t any more frogs here," Leo taunted.

"Can you blame me? I hate those things."

Alex shivered at the mention of the frogs. Hera couldn"t help but admire the a.s.sa.s.sin. Even while dealing with a creature she hated that much, she was able to kill them with no hesitation.

Twenty minutes later, they reached the edge of a large crater. Hera initially thought that this was a depression, but the area looked like the site of a meteor strike.

"Wow, is this the right place?" Blue asked.

"Yeah... I think so," Hera replied.

"Did someone or something do this? Or do you think it was always like that?" Bonnie asked.

Hera scanned the area, seeing the vast expanse that was quickly 500 meters wide. The edges of the crater had a sharp fall, but heading to the middle, it turned into a slope. In the middle of it, Hera could see purple gra.s.s growing over something that once was a building.

"Maybe. I mean, the area seems real enough to be an impact crater. But it"s the MAZE. We are around purple trees. It could be like this since the beginning."

"Wait, how do you know what a crater should look like?" Leo asked.

"I always liked those natural landmarks. Waterfalls, canyons, mountain ranges, volcanos, pretty much anything that was created naturally. I started talking about being an explorer because of things like that. It"s incredible to think about how the universe molds itself. Like this crater, the edges seem rough and uneven, the middle is all broken and tattered, but the slope seems soft and gentle. Where else could you find something so beautiful?" Hera asked.

"Wow, Hera, I never looked at it that way. You"re right. This is amazing in its own way," Alex said, looking at the crater.

The group stared at the area for a few moments. Hera had a large smile on her face. Feeling tears starting to form in her eyes, she shook herself and started to go down the slope.

"Let"s go. I want to see the ruins," Hera said, already sliding toward the center of the crater.

"I never seen Hera take the lead like this before," Bonnie said.

"Yeah, I didn"t want to ruin the moment saying anything, but it"s the first time I see her with a smile like that," Blue said before jumping down.

Being the first to reach the middle, Hera used her Pulse to check if there were any creatures around. The middle part of the crater was much smaller. It should be just a bit over 50 meters wide. As the mana ring moved, Hera started to feel the area. Aside from the gra.s.s and de debris, there was nothing here. But the broken down walls were filled with mana. Weirdly, Hera could feel the stone glowing. She approached the closest part of the ruins and activated her [Inspect]

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Arcanist Tower Ruins

What is left of a great tower, used by a powerful arcanist in the past. The tower was constructed with research in mind. The walls were reinforced with mana to protect its structure from powerful magic.

The information about who the mage was and why the tower was destroyed was lost to the ages.

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"What did you find?" Alex asked, arriving at the center of the crater

"This used to be an arcanist"s tower. The walls seem to be filled with mana."

"Wow, really?" Bonnie said as she tripped in a piece of the ruins falling into the ground.

"Did you spend so long reading books that you forgot how to walk?" Blue asked.

Bonnie just rolled her eyes and walked towards one of the walls. Hera kept walking around the area, using her Pulse now and then to check for anything hidden or dangerous.

The ruins were old, incredibly old. Most of the structure seemed to be buried underground. Hera wasn"t sure how that could have happened. Maybe the rain carried dirt, and little by little, it was covered. Still, the stones were clean. They even had that white color, as if they were brand new. This could be the effect of the mana density they had. Although, that was just a guess.

"Hera, come here!" Bonnie yelled.

Hera rushed back, worried about the researcher"s reaction. When she reached her, the woman had both hands placed in a part of the broken tower and a smile on her face.

"What happened?" Hera asked.

"Put your hand into the wall and cycle your mana," Bonnie said.

Unsure of what to expect, Hera mirrored Bonnie and placed both hands on the wall. When she started to cycle her mana, the wall seemed to be pushing the mana inside it to Hera. The explorer quickly stepped back, spooked by the reaction.

"What is that?"

"I"m not sure. But this doing this for a few second increase my mana by five points," Bonnie explained.

"Wait. What?" Blue asked.

"Are you serious? Could this help us get our mana stat too?" Alex asked.

"Maybe, give it a try," Bonnie said.

"What is this about the mana stat?" Leo asked.

Hera explained it to the hunter, teaching him the process to cycle his mana. Soon the whole group was with their hands on the walls doing the exercise. As helpful as having more mana would be Hera was too excited to focus on the training. She kept walking around the area, trying to find something more about the ruins.

She looked around, using her Pulse every time she reached the edge of her last cast. At one point, she felt something different in the ground. The wall was still glowing, but there was a mark that seemed unusual. Digging a bit, she found the archway she was searching for. In red letters, it was written "The Arcane Lookout." As she read that, a notification popped in front of her.

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Treasure map (Evolved from Mapping)

Allows you to create a map of a place you have been before. The more you know about the area, the more accurate the map will be.

The map can identify possible secrets and points of interest. Their discovery will increase the information available about the area.

Requirements: Drawing s.p.a.ce, knowledge of the area.

To improve the skill, find secrets and points of interest before they are shown on the map.

The tools used in the process may affect the result.

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Hera read the description a few times. This was exactly the type of thing she wanted. Something that helped her find interesting places. Not only that, but the skill would also improve as long as she kept searching for good spots herself.

"That is amazing!" she cheered.

Opening her map, Hera tried to see if there was any other information available about this location. The first thing she noticed was that the map had a new option. Along with the wireframe, topographic, and planimetric view, there was a treasure hunter"s chart.

In the chart, the map seemed more hand-drawn. It looked like the type of map someone would see in a video game. In the middle of the crater, there was an exclamation mark with the word "new" by its side. As Hera tapped in the area, a drawing appeared representing the ruins. Under it, there was a banner that read "Arcanist Tower Ruins". As Hera zoomed in into the ruins, a small text box appeared.

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Arcanist Tower Ruins

Status: Disabled

The ruins are mana filled debris that lay on top of the entrance to the tower.

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Hera raised one eyebrow.

"Entrance?"

She walked around the area, activating her Pulse, trying to focus on the ground beneath her feet. On the third cast of the spell, Hera thought she felt something that could be a door, but it was on the edge of her range, and she was out of mana.

Walking closer to the point where she felt that object, Hera placed her hands in the ruins and started to cycle her mana with the stone"s help. She wanted to recover enough to use the spell a few more times in order to find the entrance. Just as she closed her eyes, she heard Blue yelling from a distance.

"I got it! I got my mana!"

Hera smiled. She wasn"t entirely sure how the controller would use mana, but it would help the group. She did not doubt that. Focusing again on her mana, Hera started to pull the energy from the stone. She could feel the heat flowing through her at an incredible speed. It took a bit over twenty seconds for it to complete a cycle. Hera stopped and checked her mana. She had recovered five points!

Focusing even more on the recovery, Hera stood there for a couple of minutes, trying to refill her mana. When she was half full, she stepped away from the stone and looked for the place she felt the door. Before using her pulse spell, Hera realized that Bonnie should be at full mana right now. There was no reason for her to be using the walls to recover. She opened her status to check if there was any change and realized that her maximum mana, in those few minutes, increased by one. Bonnie probably figured that out and was trying to grind some status.

Hera used her Pulse spell a couple more times and managed to find the door she was looking for. It was buried in a spot clear of any debris. She stood above the area and used the spell one more time. There was a pocket of empty s.p.a.ce in front of the door, and after it, there was a corridor leading down.

"Guys, I found something," Hera yelled to her friends.

After a few moments, the rest of the group joined the explorer. She told them about the map evolution and that she saw the doorway with a corridor. Excited with the possibility of entering the tower, they all started to dig towards the empty pocket that Hera saw. It didn"t take very long before they broke through the layer of earth. When Blue managed to make a small opening, allowing her to see a stairway and the door that Hera found, she let her friends know.

"I got it!"

Bonnie rushed towards her, thinking about what would be inside a mage tower.

"Let me see," the researcher said, pushing Blue aside from the opening.

With the extra weight, the ground gave in, making the two of them fall inside the hole, hitting the stone staircase underground.

"Are you guys ok?" Hera asked, looking down.

"I"m not," Blue said, shoving Bonnie away from her, "The genius over here fell on top of me."

"Sorry, I got excited," Bonnie said, getting up.

Hera jumped down to the freshly unearthed tunnel and inspected the door.

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Arcanist tower entrance

Area type: Dungeon

A door that leads to the remains of the arcanist tower.

Over time, the leftover experiments that happened inside the tower changed and transformed into dangers that protect the surviving structure of the tower.

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"Guys, we found a dungeon," Hera said with a smile.