Blue and Alex were heading out of Helena's house in Hazelpond. During Hera's recovery, the two of them moved in. Bonnie could also come and share a room, but she had too much work to do in the library, and without access to Helena's laboratory, it was hard for her to complete the quests she got.

  Hera watched her friends leave the house. They were going to spend the day hunting around the city with Runir. He and Alex had gotten closer during the time they were working as mercenaries, and the man was starting to get annoyed by how some people would treat him.

  Unlike how it was in games, Healers couldn't simply fix any wound. That was something that would only become available later on. Runirs's abilities consisted of removing status effects like poison, increasing the defense of someone for a few seconds, or creating barriers that could reduce the power of an attack. However, he had to deploy them just before someone was hit in order to get optimal efficiency.

  His actual healing abilities were very simple, much like Hera's Mend spell. It would work as first aid, but even with the spell's constant use, small wounds could still take days to be fixed.

  This was one of the reasons Healers were not as sought after as one might think. At least not low level ones. They couldn't be reactive to protect people. And in order to get battle heals, which were spells or skills that allowed them to quickly fix fresh wounds, they needed some time.

  Higher level healers ended up splitting into those who could help recover older wounds quicker. Basically, working as magic doctors, or those who focused on battle heals and could bring someone back from the brink of death as long as they cast a spell just after they were wounded.

  Hera wanted to go hunt with her friends, but her wounds still weren't completely healed. Cameron was still treating her, and according to him, the Explorer still needed two days to be back in fighting shape.

  While that was frustrating, it was also incredible in a sense. If she were to recover naturally, it should take her months before she could go fight again. Thanks to the Guild and Cameron, it would only take a bit over a week for her to be able to hunt again.

  Hera was trying to appreciate what everyone had done for her, but staying inside and not being able to train was boring. It gave her too much time with her own thoughts.

  She spent most of her days practicing spells. Mostly the mana reinforcement, but she still wasn't quite there. She could cover an entire weapon with the diamond-shaped construct, but every time she tried to close the structure, the energy would break away.

  Asking Helena for advice didn't help much. The mage only said that Hera should try to understand the spell. Worst-case scenario, she would explain what was going on, but the spell was good practice for the future. Apparently, this issue was something that not even the formula of the spell could solve.

  She tried it a few more times, and with each attempt, the time needed to cover the weapons reduced. The first time she reached the point where it broke, took Hera ten minutes to make the construct. Now, in two minutes, she was able to cover the weapon as she wanted.

  The only thing missing was the connection at the edge. During several attempts, she had tried various solutions. Creating a separate bridge and then attaching it to close the gap, placing two strands of mana side by side. Even changing the location of the connection, but to no avail

  Now she wanted to see if there was a way to intertwine the mana. It would break the idea of the overall construct, but she had to try something. Yet when the two pieces of mana touched each other, the entire structure broke apart once more.

  "Why does this keep happening?" Hera dropped her chakram on the couch.

  Her tablet was on the table in front of her, a few notifications waiting to be read. One was from Mark. He was about to finish a gift he wanted to give her for getting the silver card and asked if he could come by tomorrow to give it to her.

  Hera replied that she would be around the house the entire day. She was bothered by not being able to move too much, and walking around the town was complicated due to the number of people on the streets. The second message was from the Guild. It was a reminder that her first session with a shrink was scheduled to start in one hour.

  There weren't a lot of psychiatrists in the MAZE as a whole. At least not enough to spread them out where they were needed. Because of that, the Guild had set up a few offices in each branch that worked as large-scale video conferences. It lost some of the personal feel, but the newer offices even had full holographic displays of the doctors.

  That way, there was no need to employ psychiatrists in every room, instead, they could have people in one. Oddly enough, Hera was able to set up an appointment quickly. According to the clerk who helped her with it, not many people would look for those doctors.

  That seemed insane for Hera. She always had the philosophy that everyone should take care of their mental health. At the same time, she could understand the stigma. If someone new were trying to join her party and they had mental problems, she would be weary.

  When she talked about the appointment, her friends understood that she needed to speak to someone about what happened, but aside from Bonnie, no one seemed interested in the idea. Still, there wasn't much she could do. Maybe if it helped her enough, they would change their minds.

  "Lena, I'm heading to the Guild. I'll be back later," Hera shouted, knowing her friend was keeping tabs on her.

  "Don't try to use an ATR. I asked the people there to bar you from renting one," the voice came from the closed basement door.

  "I'm not going to. I have the session today," Hera replied.

  "Oh, right. I hope it helps."

  By the sound of her voice, Hera was sure that Helena was already diving back into her work before even finishing the sentence. The speed at which the mage was able to fall back into high concentration mode was staggering. One day, the Explorer had to ask if that was an actual skill or just her way of working.

  It didn't take long for her to reach the branch of the Guild in Hazelpond, but the crowded streets made her restless. The wound on her back was very delicate right now, and she had no way of protecting the area. She was wearing a leather jacket borrowed from Alex, but still wasn't enough. She wanted to be wearing armor. Using regular clothes inside the MAZE made her feel like she was naked.

  However, Cameron asked her to refrain from doing that. Heavy armor would suffocate the wound, and right now it needed to breathe. Not air, but the environmental mana that permeated everything. The Healer left a spell running that would take in that mana as fuel instead of needing someone to be constantly charging it.

  Since Hera still had time before the session, she decided to check her armor. After all, she had a gift card with 20 thousand gold to spend. And she still had to order and wait for it to be made before actually using it.

  After asking around, a clerk explained how to contact the blacksmiths. The Guild had set up a terminal where she could browse through the crafters' portfolios and look for someone who matched the style and attributes that she wanted. After that, she could send a message directly to the person asking about whatever she wanted. That was available to anyone, and people could order armor there at any moment.

  However, not all crafters were part of that marketplace. A good number of them only had physical stores, and those usually focused more on each creation instead of mass producing various sets of gear. They generally had better prices for some pieces, not to mention they were more specialized than the ones on this giant marketplace.

  Hera headed to the terminal and started browsing. The first thing she noticed was the over five million results, and those were only the crafters that worked on commissions for the Guild. People who were starting off or were private contractors weren't on the list.

  Out of curiosity, she looked at the most expensive armors available. The same person made the top four. They were armors that seemed to come straight out of superhero comic books. They had several moving parts, a guidance system inside it, as well as several defensive and offensive mechanisms. It wouldn't be weird to call them vehicles instead of armor.

  When she noticed the price, she almost fell back. Just a single one of those armors, without any added capabilities, would cost 10 million platinum. That was 1 trillion gold! Who could have so much money?

  Looking at the materials, Hera kind of understood why they were so expensive. Aside from several electronics that had to be custom made by a large company, the ores and substances needed to create the armor all had extraordinary sounding names.

  50 Sky Dragon Emperor's hearts.

  80 square meters of skins of eternal mammoths.

  10 souls of the ocean.

  1 vial of blood of the unspeakable.

  The list went on, quoting another 200 different materials. There was also a note saying that each material provided would reduce the cost by the appropriate amount. If someone could provide all the materials, the price would drop to around 50 billion gold. It was still an absurd amount. To top it all off, after buying the armor, the order would be put on a waitlist, and when it was their turn, the production would take another six months.

  She stopped looking at something so absurd and changed the filters to match her budget. Aside from the 20,000 gold voucher, she also got 8 ,500 gold from the wendigo's corpse. It was supposed to be over 15,000, but after checking its condition, they noticed that her poison destroyed parts that could be used for research.

  Her chakram also made the price lower. As she fought, the blade broke down the mana circulation of places that it hit. That created the necessity of repairing the connections before using the skin and muscle of the beast.

  She didn't want to use all her money in a single purchase, but after facing the Carbuncle and the Wendigo, it became clear that she needed to prioritize her armor. Considering she already had a fair amount of money saved up, Hera set her budget at 25,000 gold.

  That should allow her to get armor strong enough to last for some time. She knew that it wouldn't be something that would stay with her for a long time. But unlike a game, she couldn't afford saving up for gear at later levels. This was her own life she was talking about, there was no need to be stingy.

  After setting up the filter to match her budget and started searching for her new gear, she started scrolling through the options. Very quickly, Hera started to notice some patterns.

  Every armor had a defense rating, an ability rating, and an overall rating. Among the ones that she could buy, none had an overall rating above D, but a few had C ranked defense. Two things seemed to inflate the prices, the defense rating and the abilities.

  Another thing that increased the price was attribute scaling. Armors that could become stronger as the one wearing them grew were a must later on, but now, not all had that option. Buying one with the scaling seemed like a good idea, even if it could be a problem later on. All her attributes were at 21.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Even someone focusing on a single attribute like Alex only had her agility at 22. According to some calculations, Hera would always have an edge on overall attribute numbers. Odds were that she would never have the highest attribute in a party, but the difference would be only 1 or two points when comparing with people of the same level. Meaning that scaling could go a long way for her.

  Hera spent almost half an hour looking at the options. They all seemed interesting, but it was hard to decide. She noticed that some armors had a high defense rating and even attribute scaling, but were much cheaper than others.

  Seeing the options, she understood what had happened. Those armors had terrible synergy. One had a skill that would increase the power of spells, but scaled with strength. Another could create a barrier around the user based on its endurance, but had charisma scaling.

  Those felt like armors that someone with money problems would get since they couldn't afford anything better or fit only people with conventional builds. Hera wondered for a moment why people would make armor like that.

  It didn't take long for her to remember a conversation with Mark. According to him, when a crafter created something new, the results wouldn't always be what they wanted. Even in those cases, the blueprint would still be saved by the skill.

  Hera kept looking for something that fit her, but nothing felt right. She had only twenty minutes before her appointment and was about to give up for now when she saw a different armor among the works of one particular crafter.

  The gear had scaled with Intelligence and Charisma. Its defense rating was D+, and when hit, the armor would let out an energy blast as a counter-attack. She could toggle the skill on and off, and while on, the burst would happen with any impact that crossed a certain threshold.

  If she had that, the carbuncle wouldn't have made such a large gash on her back. The only thing that bothered Hera about the armor was its design.

  The chest and legs were in a single piece. It was tight fitting and had a skirt with a large opening in the middle on both sides. The armor also covered the neck, leaving just a small gap that started just above the collarbone. The sleeves arms would go just above the elbow, having some loose on the edges, and there was a pair of armguards that accompanied it.

  Since the scaling was bad, the crafter would also throw in boots to match, but they had no special effects, just like the armguards. The price was only 20,000 gold. She could use it and still have some leftover for other pieces.

  Hera sent a message to the crafter asking about the strength of the energy blast considering her attribute and if he would be able to make the boots or the armguards have some special effect while staying under her budget. She also asked if there was a way to change the color of the armor. In the picture, it was bright gold and blue that would be too easy to spot in the wild.

  She left the terminal after sending the message, already heading to her doctor's appointment since there was only five minutes left. While she was in the waiting room, the crafter replied. To Hera, the blast would be as strong as the bounce of a basketball.

  It wouldn't harm anyone, but it could push them away. He couldn't make the boots or armguards better, but he could make them easier to enchant, which would raise the price by 1,000. Changing the color would also cost between 500 to 750 gold, depending on her choice.

  He attached a list of colors available and told her that he could have it done in two days and another day to deliver since it was a Guild commission. Hera quickly agreed to the terms and would create the order as soon as she returned to the Guild. She remembered that she could reach out to Peter to get more funds, but the Explorer would rather pay herself than owe that obnoxious man anything.

  "Hera Kingsley, please come in," a voice came from the doctor's office.

  One hour later, Hera left her session feeling a bit better. According to the psychiatrist, the feeling of boredom she had wasn't that uncommon, especially among people who spent years inside the MAZE. For beginners, it was less common, but it also happened.

  She was someone who spent years dreaming of being an explorer. Because of that, doing anything that could be considered part of a civilian's life made her feel like she was wasting time. It wasn't something serious, but it was a good idea to check if everything was fine.

  Before leaving the Guild, she stopped by the commission terminal and requested her new armor. Unlike the shop she visited in the Carpon Caverns, the payment had to be made in full as she completed the order. It didn't bother her as much since it was all guaranteed by the Guild. If something happened, she would be reimbursed, or they would commission new armor following her request.

  The order also required a full-body scan. Luckily for Hera, she had made a few of those during the last few days of treatment. Even if she had to do it again, it wouldn't be a problem. This branch of the Guild had only a single one of those machines, but people used it mostly to request armors and sometimes as part of a medical procedure, so the wait to use it wasn't very long.

  As Hera left the Guild, she sent a text to Blue and Alex, asking what they wanted for dinner. She would stop by somewhere and pick it up on the way back. It didn't take long for them to reply, and Hera headed to the market. She had to kill time anyhow.

  Cooking might not be something she excelled at, but at least it was fun, and more importantly, it was a way to stay busy and not thinking about hunting. She picked a basket and started gathering the ingredients for spaghetti with meatballs. Since Blue asked for pasta and Alex just wanted some meat, it was a fitting choice.

  After getting the pasta and the veggies, she splurged a bit and got cow meat for the meal. It had to be imported from outside this room, so the price was steeper than frog meat. Still, they deserved some luxury. Even after all her spending, she still had over 8,000 gold in her account.

  Buying some meat wouldn't put her in the red. As she waited in line to pay, Helena sent her a text asking if she could buy food for Runir too, Alex wanted to invite him for dinner, but she asked Helena's permission first.

  She was next in line but had to leave to get more ingredients. The amount in her basket wasn't enough for five people. She grabbed more ingredients, got back in line, and arrived at her home in less than 40 minutes.

  "Are they here yet?" Hera asked as she walked in.

  "No, but they should be close. What did you get me?" Helena asked from the basement.

  "Nothing yet. I'm making spaghetti and meatballs."

  There was a moment of silence, followed by hurried steps coming from the lab. Helena slammed the door open.

  "Wait, are you cooking?" she asked as she arrived in the kitchen.

  "Yeah... I mean, we can order in, but I was in the mood. Is that a problem?" Hera was already setting up the pans on the stove.

  "Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, we have people coming."

  Hera stared at Helena, "Lena, I can cook. I'm not a grand chef, but I can make some dishes. Why are you so worried?"

  "No... I know. I mean, you told me... But... The last roommate I had was Quinn, and let's just say that we could create some pretty deadly bioweapons."

  Hera chuckled, "Relax. Let me do my thing. I promise no one is going to get sick. Unless it's because of an allergy that I don't know about. Actually, let me check."

  She sent a text to Blue, who confirmed that the only one with any allergies was Runir. He couldn't eat shellfish. Since it wasn't going to matter for the dish she was making, Hera got back to preparing their meal. She was about halfway through when her friends arrived. The meatballs were already in the oven, the pasta was in the pan, and she was making the sauce.

  "Hey. We're back!" Blue announced as she walked in with Alex and Runir, "Where did you get the food?"

  "Nowhere. I'm making it right now. Give me, like, 15 minutes, and it will be done," Hera said, adding garlic, onions, and oregano to the chopped tomato in the pan.

  "Hold up. You are cooking?" Alex rushed into the kitchen.

  "Yep. I was in the mood, and the shrink suggested making myself busy while I can't go hunting."

  "That's awesome. What are we having?" Blue asked.

  "Spaghetti with Meatball surprise," Hera replied, puffing her chest.

  "What's the surprise?" Runir asked.

  "It wouldn't be fun if I told you guys. But relax, there is no shellfish in the recipe. I promise," Hera was already heating the sauce.

  "No worries. Even if there were, I'm pretty sure I can keep myself alive until I reach the Guild or get a shot."

  "Let's not put that to the test today, shall we? I just stopped worrying about her. I don't want to worry about someone else right now," Helena started setting up the table.

  The group kept talking by the kitchen door while Hera was cooking. Runir asked a few questions about the Wendigo that Hera fought. He had seen her interview and was curious about a few details, just like everyone else. After a few minutes, the food was done, and they all headed to the dinner table.

  "Holy crap, Hera. This looks amazing!" Blue was already getting her serving.

  "Wow, it really does. Much better than the charcoal I make," Helena started serving the drinks.

  "Ok, and what is the surprise?" Alex placed a meatball on her plate and started to cut it.

  "Don't do it like that. They are not that big, you can just take a bite out of them," Hera complained since Alex was about to spoil the surprise.

  Alex squinted at Hera for a moment and put the meatball in her mouth without breaking eye contact. Her expression changed from skepticism to wonder in just a moment, "Is this... Wow, it's incredible!"

  "I'm glad you liked," Hera sat down, waiting for her turn to put food on her plate.

  They all tried the meatballs almost instantly. Hera cut some potatoes into small cubes, fried them, then wrapped them in bacon and cheese, and stuffed the meatballs with them. The result was a meaty outside with layers of soft and crispy in the middle.

  Meatballs were a dish that Hera always enjoyed making. It allowed her to experiment with different flavors without ruining the taste. They kept talking while eating, joking around, and having fun. All the while talking about the things they had done during the day.

  Finishing the meal, the group headed to the living room to talk. Hera had forgotten to make a dessert, but they still had a stash of chocolate and various candies.

  "Ms. Dittro, do you mind if I ask you a question about leveling?" Runir turned to Helena.

  After a moment without answering Helena noticed everyone was staring at her, "Do I have something in my teeth?"

  "No, Runir is just asking if you can answer a question," Blue said, unsure why Helena reacted like that.

  "Wait. I'm Misditro?" Helena looked confused.

  "No. I said, Ms. Dittro," Runir explained, embarrassed by the situation.

  "Oh! Sorry. I think you are the first person to call me Ms. Ditrro since... ever. I didn't even register you saying my last name. What was the question?"

  "I just got a spell that is classified as a battle heal. Do you know if that is something exclusive to healers?"

  "Not really. I have a couple, but healers have an easier time handling the residual mana of attacks," Helena replied.

  Blue, and Alex stared at each other. They had no idea what the two were talking about.

  "What is a battle heal?" Alex asked.

  "You know that spell I used during the last fight? To heal the cut that Blue got on her face?" Runir asked.

  "Yeah, what about it?"

  "That is a battle heal. A spell that uses the residual mana from an attack to recover. It uses the mana that the attack left on you, plus my mana, to quickly recreate the cells your body just lost. Almost like raising them from the dead. But it needs to be used right after the attack hits. Mine has only a three second window," Runir explained.

  Hera thought about it for a moment, "And isn't that what happens with regular heals?"

  "Not quite, sweetie. Regular heals make your body trigger its natural regeneration at an accelerated pace, fueled by the magic poured into the wound. It's like giving your cells twenty shots of espresso," Helena said, taking a piece of white chocolate.

  "Can anyone learn those?" Hera asked.

  "Yep, but it's hard. Spells like that require a deep knowledge of anatomy. If I'm not mistaken, part of the healer's test is to memorize all the bones in the human body, right?" Helena turned to Runir.

  "Not all, but we need to memorize about two-thirds. And some anatomy lessons on organs, muscles, and everything else. That's part of the reason I failed the first time. I spent the next week studying like crazy," Runir grabbed a few gummy bears and was throwing them up to catch with his mouth.

  "Don't feel frustrated. 30% of the recruits fail the test the first time. The number goes up to 75% for healers. We wanted to make a better way to prepare the students for the roles they want, but since the first part of the test gives you a bit of career advice, it's hard to prepare you guys for it."

  "Yeah, my entire class failed their role tests, but after we passed the test on the second try, they all were recruited by a company and headed to another branch. I wasn't too keen on being a goon for a corporation, and a friend of mine is already here in the Carpon Caverns, waiting for me," Runir sat back on the couch.

  "Speaking of that. When are we going to the next room?" Blue asked.

  "Blue, we are still level 4. And Hera is out of commission for the next few days," Alex replied.

  "But we are awesome. You can kill those crocodiles on your own without a problem, and we have Runir. When Hera is clear to go, we might as well try."

  "Blue, I'm not sure if that is a good idea. The things there will be much stronger," Hera placed one hand on Blue's shoulder.

  "Actually, you guys might be fine there. You've been working together for a while. And not many parties would have a healer, not to mention Runir's friend. I'm guessing he's been there a while, right?" Helena asked.

  "Yeah, he just got to level 7, apparently."

  "So, you guys might be able to handle there. Just don't go into a dungeon right away. Fight some monsters that roam the caverns as a test run. If they are too much, you can come back and train more before going there again," Helena finished eating her chocolate bar.

  "I'm game," Blue pumped her fist.

  "Honestly, me too. This place is too slimy. Everything here keeps reminding me of the frogs," Alex joined in.

  "I'm fine too. Honestly, this past week working with you, Alex, was much better than being a mercenary. I was already wondering if I could join your party," Runir admitted.

  "I have no objections," Blue nodded.

  "Me neither," Hera smiled.

  "Welcome aboard then," Alex toasted to the new member.

  "All right, tomorrow we head to the next room!" Blue shouted, throwing a fist into the air.

  "I'm still prohibited from fighting for the next two days, and my armor only arrives after that," Hera said without getting up.

  "Aw, man," Blue slumped back in the chair.

  "Are you guys always this rowdy?" Runir asked.

  "That's mostly Blue. We are the ones who have to pull her back from the clouds," Alex took a sip of her wine.

  "Hey!" Blue protested.

  Helena just laughed at the situation, "I might need to install a noise-canceling field in my lab."

  "It's a good idea," Hera chuckled. She knew that there were still some days before she could hunt again, but now there was one more reason to be excited.

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