To the victor, the spoils
When Hera woke up, she had no idea how long it's been since she passed out. She was still in the room where they met Sammy, that mix of a hot spring with a psychiatrist's office. Slowly moving her hands, she realized her body was still in one piece, despite what seemed like something's best efforts. With a soft groan, she pulled herself up, sitting on the bean bag chair she was currently on top of. The Empress felt a splitting headache and put one hand on her head. From the corner of her eye, she saw a mug approaching.
"You must be thirsty. Drink," Sammy's voice was soft, and it came inside her mind instead of out loud. Possibly not to wake the others.
Hera looked up and saw Bonnie, Shane, Mylo, Adriel, and Alex still sleeping in the same places they were before going to the past. Then, a thought came to her mind. Was it the past? She wasn't sure. There was a part of her who remembered something different, but her brain was still too jumbled up. When the Empress opened her eyes, she saw a number of notifications in front of her but just thought about putting them behind her head for the moment. She wasn't in the mood to read something right now. Bringing the mug up to her lips, she tasted the water and instantly realized how thirsty she actually was, drinking the entire mug in a single gulp.
"Mo…" she tried speaking, but her throat said no, hurting too much to let her finish the sentence.
"Don't worry. Here, more. Drink slowly. It will get better," the turtle spoke in her mind again.
Hera nodded and drank the next cup with more calm, feeling the water refreshing her body. After her third mug, she looked up at Sammy, now at his full size and the flower power pattern covering his shell with numerous flowers. She opened her mouth to speak, but she still couldn't. A bit frustrated, she pointed to the two empty seats where Helena and Blue previously were.
"They are in the back," Sammy gestured to the side, and Hera noticed a door she didn't see before, "Those are the private quarters I have here in case a treatment takes too long. There is less steam there and actual beds. Unfortunately, I need this place to dive into someone's memories, so I couldn't have you all staying back there. You are free to go there if you want."
"What…" Hera took a deep breath, "What do you mean memories?"
"Ah. Yes. This will feel a bit weird. Despite what you believed in there, we were never in the past, only in the curse's memories. That's why I took you all out of there as soon as I could. If you had stayed for longer, then the curse might have realized what happened."
"Ok," the Empress replied and shook her head, still processing what he said. She was sure they were in the past, but Sammy was saying they weren't. Her mind felt scrambled, and she didn't like that. Deciding she needed a better place to clear her thoughts, she pointed at the door and then at herself to signify she would be going there.
"Of course. Please, rest. If you need anything, all you have to do is call me. I can make a steam window that we can use to communicate."
Hera nodded and walked through the door. She still felt very wobbly, and, for some reason, she didn't like the idea of calling her court out. Having more voices inside her mind now sounded like a nightmare. Going through that entrance, the Empress found herself in what looked like a common area of a resort. Various chairs and nets spread around, a bar and some vending machines with food that didn't require any money, but what caught her attention more than anything was a soft sobbing voice coming from one of the rooms on the left. She rushed there only to find Helena crying, tears streaming down her face.
"Lena! Are you ok?" her voice barely able to leave her throat, nevertheless, Hera approached, and the mage got up and gave her a hug.
"I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm great," she replied, still sobbing.
Hera hugged her back, unsure what to do, when she heard some noise from a door in the back of the room, and Blue walked out of the bathroom. The controller saw the two of them and froze. Looking Hera in the eyes, she mouthed, 'Is everything ok?'
'I don't know,' Hera mouthed back.
They stood there for a few moments until Helena let go of the hug and saw Blue on the side. She walked towards her and gave the controller a big hug. It was shorter than Hera's, but there was still a lot of emotion behind it.
"Lena? Are you ok?" Hera asked as the two stopped hugging.
"Yeah," Helena smiled, "I just. I accepted the reward we got and," she snapped her fingers, and a small ball of light appeared to her side.
"What is this?" Blue asked.
"I don't… What? Lena?!" Hera gasped. She could sense mana very well, including the element of mana, which very few people could do without any specific items or spells. What Helena created now was a light spell, but it was her shadow mana like it was supposed to be. Because of the Mage role, almost all of Helena's mana was of the shadow element. That meant that her spells would first come out as shadow spells and then change to something else. That process would make some of the mana used for that specific magic be spent just in that conversion. Yet, the spell Helena was currently using would start off as shadow but change to light mana naturally without losing any of it. Almost like the spell was being created with light mana from the start.
"I don't get it. You made a light," Blue frowned.
"Yes. I made a light. With shadow mana, without wasting any mana to change the elements," Helena explained.
"Wouldn't you need to have half shadow and half light mana for that?" Blue asked, even more confused.
"I would."
"And do you?"
"No, my mana is still a shadow."
"Then how?"
"The reward. It gave me a skill. Here," Helena pulled her tablet and opened her status windows through it, looking for the new skill and showing it to them.
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Light Manipulation (Rank 1) - Passive:
When in the presence of a strong source of light, your shadow mana will be instantly converted into light mana when using light spells. You can also mix both types of mana in either a light or dark spell to change its effects. The ratio must always be 1:1 for it to work.
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"Lena… does this means…" Hera looked up with a smile after reading the description.
"By all effects, I managed to be the Ying-Yang mage I wanted to be. I can use both light and shadow mana like I've always dreamed of," Helena had a big smile on her face, and tears started to form in her eyes again. Ever since her mana was stuck to shadow, she searched for a way to fix that, a way to change part of her mana to something else or to have her light spells take the same benefits of her synchronization with shadow mana. Now, she did it. Even if it was a gift from the system, she finally reached her dream.
"I'm really happy for you, Lena," Blue smiled.
"Me too," Hera nodded.
"Thanks. I got some more stuff too. I can make some shadow puppets, and Hera is not the only one with a title. Plus, a level up. What did you guys get?" Helena asked.
"I don't know. I haven't seen it yet. My head was so much of a mess I couldn't think straight," Hera replied.
"Same. I saw the notification but dismissed them all. Let me check," Blue pulled up her tablet.
Hera just thought about the notifications, and they moved around her head. She was surprised for a moment because, like Lena said, there were a lot.
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Hidden Quest complete
You have destroyed an existence that was a potential danger for all those living inside the MAZE. This accomplishment will be engraved in the memories of those who still remember the destruction caused by that existence forever.
The MAZE, the system, and all those affected by this existence thank you for your actions.
You will receive the following rewards:
1 Level up
Skills:
Toxic Mist
Title: Wardbearer
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You have leveled up
Current Level 34
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Toxic Mist (Rank 1) - Active:
By using your natural poison, you create a cloud of poisonous mist that surrounds you. The mist poisons enemies that come into contact with it, dealing damage over time and reducing their accuracy and defensive capabilities. The mist dissipates after a short duration.
Mana cost: 1% m/s Duration: 30s
Radius: 10 meters
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Wardbearer - Title
Having overcome a powerful curse that threatened your very essence, you have ascended to a heightened state of resilience and perception. Becoming a paragon of protection against malevolent forces and afflictions. Your profound connection with the magical fabric of your body grants you an instinctive awareness, allowing you to detect the subtlest of disturbances aimed at your well-being.
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Aside from those rewards, there were also two notifications telling her she got a few other skills.
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You have acquired a skill:
Poison Coating
Mana Vessel
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Poison Coating (Rank 1)
Active: Thanks to your natural poison, you can infuse your weapons with various poisons, granting them additional properties for a limited time. The poison effects are limited to the types of poison you know. The potency of the poison and duration of the infusion depends on your ability to manipulate poison. This skill can overlap with other elemental buffs or spells.
You can spend 1% of your total mana to cover a weapon with poison. That mana cannot be accessed while the coating is active.
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Mana Vessel - Passive
You have understood one of the basic properties of mana.
When putting that in practice, your spells will have an increased effect and will be harder to stop or block as the mana used to fuel said spells become more natural.
This effect can only affect skills of rank 5 or above and spells at Expert Rank or above.
That requirement is ignored if you have at least 1 thousand points in intelligence.
Increased potency + 100%
Spells affected can self sustain
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"Wow… this is a lot. Did you guys get a title too?" Hera asked.
"I'm just reading it, Wardbearer," Blue said.
"Oh? I got that one, too," Helena turned to the controller.
"That's the one I got too. I think we all got the same."
"Well… It makes a bit of sense, right? Titles are given to people who should've died but didn't. Since no one was ever able to survive that curse, I think we fit into that category," Blue added, "How many skills did you get, Hera?"
"From the quest, only one. I got two other skills, but they kind of fit something I was trying in the past… Or memory. I'm still not sure," Hera replied.
"Oh, yeah. The shadow puppet thing was not part of the quest reward. I used some shadows to help clean the houses and got bored, so I changed their shapes to make small dolls to move around," Helena moved her hands, recreating the effects of the spell she used back in the Vanguard. A small clump of shadows appeared, forming what looked like a tiny snowman with long lanky arms and legs. The doll gave a salute and started marching to the edge of the bed to fluff the pillow.
"That is cute, in a weird creepy kind of way," Blue replied.
"Creepy?!" Helena gasped, "These little guys are absolutely adorable!"
"A little, but the long ass arms freak me out. It reminds me of spiders."
"Hang on then," Helena shifted the spell, using her new skill to mix some light mana. Now instead of just a shadow puppet, it had an actual shape, including a pair of beady black eyes surrounded by white light.
"That is better," Blue nodded, but when the smile appeared on its face, she changed her mind, "Yeah, not that's worse," the controller stepped back, "It looks like one of those possessed dolls in a creepy Japanese movie."
"I can fix this. Just give me a moment," Helena frowned, but she couldn't help but smile. She was using light mana without wasting any of her magic. To make things better, the light skills that she got before her mana turned into shadow now finally worked. One of the biggest problems for the mage was that the skills she got for light mana were all connected to her [Synch]. It was a double edge sword for Helena, who made a mistake while getting her elemental affinity. Now, thanks to this skill that treated shadow mana as light mana in a specific condition, a previously locked chunk of her skills was finally free.
"By the way. What skill did you get, Blue?"
"It's called Combat Reflexes. Just a blanket increase in my reflexes. It's stronger during a fight but works all the time. And you?"
"The one from the quest is called Toxic Mist. I basically can do the same thing Daskka does, but instead of healing or hiding people, I hurt them and strip their defenses. I think this is about what I did during the fight against Reynara."
"How did that go, by the way? I woke up not that long ago and didn't have a chance to talk with Lena about it."
"Let's sit down to talk. Actually, I'll grab some stuff from the vending machines before that. I just realized I'm starving," Hera replied.
"I'll go with you," Blue turned to Helena, "We'll be right back."
The mage just nodded, still tweaking her shadow puppet to make it cuter. Blue and Hera just chuckled and walked outside. The curse was gone, and this struggle was over. Knowing that lifted a very heavy weight from their shoulders.