Hera spent the rest of the day helping Helena set up her lab. There were still several boxes to unpack, and the mage was very particular about the organization of her equipment. She wanted to use an ATR and try to get her new combat style, but the training rooms in Hazelpond were all currently occupied. She made an appointment to spend most of the next day using a private ATR. That should be enough time to learn the skill with the help of the trainer.

At night, she went looking for a crafter that could combine the spirit essence with her chakram. She did ask Mark about it, but he wasn't sure he could do a good job, and it would take a day of travel by boat just to deliver the weapon.

Sadly, Helena didn't know any blacksmith in this city. Her advice was for Hera to go to the next room. It was called Carpon Caverns, a room much smaller than Brinefront. It had a mine and a sprawling tunnel network. The mine was almost like an open-air dungeon. People could harvest the minerals, and once a week, the area would reset.

Hera found it odd that so many people were needed to work there. Since it was so close to the outside, it made sense that someone had set up heavy machinery to speed up the operation. However, according to Helena, the minerals in the area behaved a bit like monsters in a dungeon. Mining it could lead to rare drops aside from the guaranteed mineral. If they used heavy machinery, those drops wouldn't happen.

Aside from that, the city inside the Carpon Caverns had few houses but many forges and shops. Since it was a place rich in minerals, various crafters would stay there to perfect their craft.

Hera could go there at any moment and come back on the same day. The only restriction was that she couldn't go through more than ten doorways a day. That was a safety measure. Many people would get disoriented and nauseous. There was also the danger of getting a debuff that would stop you from moving between layers for some time. The duration of that debuff would vary, going from just a few hours to even years. The actual specifics were a mystery. No one was willing to risk being stuck in a room just to get more information.

Late in the afternoon, Hera headed towards the doorway. The traffic was still heavy, but more people were coming back than going to the Caverns. She had to wait in line for around ten minutes before she could go to the next room. Arriving in front of the familiar white doorway, she noticed it was almost like a copy-paste version of the one near Brinefront and the one in the guild. The only difference was the symbol above it. Instead of the seedling sprout, there was an image of a rock surrounded by several jagged stones.

She approached the doorway, and as her hand touched the white glow in the middle of it, a notification popped up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Would you like to be transported to

Carpon Caverns - 2nd Layer

[Yes] [No]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pressing yes, the familiar light followed by the feeling of being submerged in warm water washed over her. In a few moments, that comfort gave way to the smell of iron and stone and a stuffy heat that seemed to come from all directions.

Much like the entrance she just used, this doorway was embedded on the cavern's brown wall. People were moving around, holding their mining tools, and loud banging noises echoed through the area.

"Don't stop the line. Keep going. Keep going," A tall man wearing a miner's heat was ushering the flow like a shepherd.

Hera hurried along, trying not to cause trouble in the line, and headed towards the city. There was a line of people walking towards a small crevice along the walls. Following them, Hera found the entrance to the only town in this room.

The gate was hidden in a crack on the wall, but the city itself was carved inside the stone. It looked like a massive bunker. To the left, there was only the stone wall of the room. To the right, five floors filled with buildings carved from the rocks revealed the city. Even though she was underground, it was surprisingly open. The area was made in a way that pushed any claustrophobic feeling away.

Hera needed to go to the top floors, that's where the forges were. She passed through the mine carts and the people hauling the ores and walked the five flights of stairs. There was an elevator, but there was a long line to take it, and it seemed to be used mostly to carry the ores to the upper levels.

It was an intense workout, but now it wasn't much of a problem to Hera. Reaching the forges, she asked around for the best place to enchant a weapon with an elemental essence. She was directed to a couple of places. The best crafter had a long line on its shop and was only available to take a request in a couple of months. Most of the other ones also had long lines of waiting before being able to do commissioned work.

Hera ended up in a less know forge. An older man with only one arm seemed to be managing the front of the store, "Hello, what can I help you with?"

"Hi, I'm looking for a place that could enchant a weapon with an elemental essence. Some people recommended this place," Hera said, trying not to stare at the man's arm.

"We can do that work here. Although I must say that the standards of our shop are not what they used to be. My grandson is still learning his craft," the man explained.

"This is not a very good way to make a sale. You know that, right?" Hera asked, confused about the business practice of the man.

He chuckled, "I know, but I don't want anyone to badmouth my grandson just because he is still learning. What do you want to be enchanted?"

Hera placed her chakram on the counter together with the spirit elemental essence., "This weapon, with this essence. But I want to know prices and the time required before anything."

The man inspected the materials, taking a long time looking at the chakram. After a while, he nodded, "One second. Let me fetch my grandson."

Hera nodded and waited in the store. The weapons displayed seemed to be well made, although there were some noticeable flaws. Some had dents in odd places, others had a lousy finishing, but the blades and edges all seemed perfect. Above the counter, two weapons caught her eye. A large spear with a red iron blade and a scimitar with a blue handle that gave off a weird feeling. She activated her Elemental Sight and observed the weapons. The spear was called 'Montain's Rage' and had a fire affinity, the scimitar was called 'Lost Tear' and had an ice affinity. Both weapons seemed to be very well crafted, almost as if another person made them.

"Sorry for the delay. Here is my grandson," the man came out from the back of the shop, followed by a kid who looked 16. Scrawny arms, a thin beard that grew only in a few patches, "Introduce yourself," the man pushed his grandkid towards Hera.

"Yeah, sorry, pops. I'm Ronan, Ronan Weller. Nice to meet you," he put out his hand for Hera to shake it.

"Hi, I'm Hera Kingsley," She shook the boy's hand. She felt the calluses on his hand. It was like shaking the hand of someone who worked with heavy tools for years. Touching his hand and looking at his face gave very different impressions.

"So, what can I help you with?" Ronan asked.

Hera explained what she wanted, showing the materials to him. He started to make some notes on a small pad he grabbed from the counter. That made Hera much more comfortable asking him. She was a bit worried about asking someone who was still learning, but it showed he really cared about the craft. The state of his hand also reassured her.

"To get a better result, we should use a second essence. This weapon has a lot of surface area and using just one might not be enough to cover it all. That essence is not that hard to get, so we could get another for about 2 500 gold. Plus, the price for the actual enchantment we can set at 4 000 gold for everything. And I can get it ready in... two days. Just to be safe."

"Two days?" Hera asked, impressed by the speed.

"Yeah, I know that some people can do it in under a day, but I prefer to take my time and be sure not to make any mistakes," Ronan replied.

"Don't worry. The time is not an issue," Hera said.

She considered the price. It was expensive, but at the same time, she would be paying more for the elemental essence than for the actual enchantment. She didn't have to worry about rent at the moment. It was already paid off until the end of her lease in five months. Even with that, she still had over 10 000 gold at the moment. Spending this much on an upgrade seemed like a good idea.

"Ok, I'll take it. Do you guys have any other chakrams for me to use while you work on this one? Something cheap, please. It's just for training."

"We can rent you one while we work on yours. If something happens, you have to pay 75 gold, since it would be its price. If not, consider part of the price of the enchantment," the older man said.

"Oh, that's great. Thanks, Mr. Weller," Hera smiled at him.

"Please, call me Clayton. And this is all part of our customer service," the old man said.

Hera thanked the two and got her receipt. She would pay the materials plus half the cost now, and the rest on pickup. She left the shop and headed back to the doorway. As curious as Hera was about this room, she didn't want to explore a new layer without her friends. Being here alone felt almost like going to a party when you knew no one there.

Going back to Hazelpond, Hera had to wait for about half an hour before crossing the doorway once more. Not for any restriction, just because there were many people in the line trying to get back. She wanted to use the ATR to learn the fighting style that she picked. If she had the time, she would also use it to learn some other basic spells.

She headed back to the house and spent the rest of the night helping Helena. The following day, she went to the ATR early in the morning and started to train the Wire Trap style.

Using her borrowed chakram, Hera started to learn how to use it while tied to Yarnball. She already had some experience with it, but it wasn't an actual fighting style. The style was very different than what she expected. By the name, she imagined it would be a defensive approach with a few mid-range attacks. In reality, most of the movements were offensive, made in a way that the attacks would either hit her target or trap them with the chain. Throwing the chakram in a pendulum motion increased the damage dealt by the blade. If she got closer, the same attack would make the weapon spin around the target, wrapping it in the string.

The main difference was that she was using Yarnball instead of an actual chain. Hera had yet to see the string snap, so using it for fighting didn't seem like a bad idea. Especially because of its return function. By the end of the day, it became clear that she would need more time before getting the skill. However, some of the movements were already engraved in her mind, even if they were far from perfect. As she left the ATR, Hera spent another 800 gold to use the training room the next day.