"So the skills are pretty simple. When I use observe or inspect, the bonus damage I deal will appear," Hera said after reading through all the notifications and changes in her abilities.

"Sort of, it's not damage is effectiveness. It means that it is not just for combat, also remember that the max bonus you can gain is 100% extra effectiveness. Even so, that doesn't mean you found out everything you could about the monster," Peaches said.

"100%? I thought my version would be weaker than from a normal hunter."

"It is. They don't have a limit. Although it takes a long time for a hunter to get over 200% for a specific monster, it is possible. You also get less increase for the same amount of information. Let's say you and a hunter share the exact same intel, and for him, it would be a 10% increase. For you, that would be 7%."

"So I need to reach 130% of what a pure hunter would get to reach my 100%?"

"135% or so probably. The last push from 99 to 100 is harder to get for everyone," Peaches explained.

"Ok, then that extra effectiveness also translates to my spells. Poison spells will be stronger, the pulse will give more information when it's a monster that I'm familiar with, and the fear spell will be more effective if I know what the target is afraid of."

"Exactly, and remember to think outside the box. You are not limited to using a predator to scare another monster. Some can be scared of water, snakes, or maybe even music," Peaches nodded.

"Really? So as long as they fear something, I can make the fear stronger? Can't I just consider that everything is afraid of a dinosaur or death?" Hera asked.

Peaches shook his head, "It doesn't work like that. You can't use something the monster doesn't know. Not every creature will know what a T-Rex is. And the concept of death is too abstract to function with the spell. Not to mention that you won't be the one deciding what the spell looks like at your level."

"I'm not? I only figured out the spell when I used a bear's roar as a base."

"That might work to get the spell, but it's not how it actually works. When you get that spell in an advanced rank, you might change some of its intentions. Now, if you already found out what scared the monster, the hunt skill will make the spell mirror whatever they fear."

"So, it works even if I never saw what they fear?"

"How would you know that they fear something that they never saw? You need some information for that to work. Even if it's just a roar or a smell. Of course, the more you know about it, the better you can mirror it," Peaches explained.

"I guess that makes sense. Can I share information with other hunters?"

"Yes, and no. You can share information and have it saved in your catalogue, but you won't get the buff until the information is confirmed."

"So, if someone tells me that a monster is weak against fire and that's a 1% increase, I won't get that until I hit the monster with fire?" Hera asked.

"Exactly. Some things are easier to share and count as benefits, like their appearance or hunting grounds. By the time you find the monster, you would get the benefits."

Hera nodded and opened the new spell she got.

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Pinpoint Weak spot

Rank: Novice

Creates a marker on the target's weak spot. The more knowledgeable you are about your target, the stronger the effect is. By attacking the weak spot, the target will receive more damage.

Using this skill allows you to share a quarter of the effects you receive from your [Explorer's Hunt] skill with anyone who hits the marker.

Range 20 meters

Mana cost: 20 mana

Duration: 1 minute

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"So, this pinpoint weak spots spell allows other people to share the extra damage, right? When it gets stronger, does the amount I share increase?" Hera asked.

"No, this is another limitation of your version of the skill. Regular hunters can share half its effects. An interesting benefit is that both these effects can overlap. So if an explorer and a hunter are working together, and both have a 100% bonus, and each uses their own pinpoint weak spots spells, the total buff they share can be equivalent to three quarters."

"That's a long-winded way of saying that we can stack the buff," Hera chuckled.

"I'm being thorough here. Stop complaining," Peaches scoffed.

"I'm not complaining. Now, let me see the relic first."

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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: 15 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.

Current range: 10 meters

Range while hidden: 15 meters

Active effect:

Dowsing rod

By letting the string loose and pointing it down, you can ask about a location, item, or creature. The string will point towards the direction where the query is located. The accuracy of this effect depends on its owner's strength.

Cooldown: 120 hours

If this effect is used to find a living creature, the cooldown is reduced to 50 hours

Lose 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 4 hours, 1 meter of thread will be generated, up to a maximum of 10 meters.

You can insert 50% of your maximum mana inside Yarnball to speed up the creation of 1 meter of thread.

Current thread available: 10 meters

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"That's a big window," Hera gasped.

"You have no idea, kid. Some relics end up almost being a magazine."

"Really? Do they have multiple pages?"

"It's up to the owner. Some let it have other pages. Others just have this giant window," Peaches explained.

"Do people remember everything their relic can do? I mean, I try to keep in mind, but I always forget the danger sense. The vibration is too weak for me to notice when I'm focused on something else."

"But you used that one during the jungle biome, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but I was focused on feeling if they were throwing anything at me. Normally that wouldn't happen."

"Well. You're not all wrong. Most explorers tend to forget one or two functions early on. But the more they use it, the better they get at handling their relic. High-level explorers use their relics fully. Even if they only started doing that after a few upgrades."

"That's what I heard. I really need to meet another explorer and talk about all this. I'm a bit lost," Hera started thinking if there would be anyone available. The only high-level explorer she knew was Morgan, the guild master's assistant. The problem was that having a moment to talk to him should be very hard.

"Kid, I can see you are thinking about something, but can we talk about the catalogue?" Peaches interrupted Hera.

"Oh, sorry. Sure, it works kind of like the explorer's map, right?"

"That's right. Try to pull it up."

Hera mentally called the skill, and instead of a window, an old leather-bound tome appeared in her lap.

"This is the skill?"

"Oh, you are more old school than I expected, kid. The skill takes the form that you ask it to."

"I didn't ask for this. I mean, it's very pretty, and it looks like something that was passed down through generations, but how can I find anything inside? Will I have to go through each page looking for a specific monster?" Hera opened the book. The title 'Hunter's Catalogue' in beautiful handwriting was on the first page, and right under it, an out-of-place search bar. To the sides, several tabs split the book. The tabs all had the layer numbers, but there was an indicator on the top left that would change the categories of the tabs as she pressed. When touching the search bar, a virtual keyboard would appear, and although it was odd to type in the air, she was a bit used to that since her map skill was the same. There was an autocomplete function on the search bar, and she could even type just characteristics, and the skill would cross-reference them with the monsters she had registered.

"Are you still going to complain?" Peaches saw Hera's expression change as she started looking through the catalogue.

"No... this is incredible. I wonder if the learn skill from researches is similar."

"Maybe one day you can find out."

"You are not going to give me anything?"

"Nope. You already had enough."

"Fine," Hera rolled her eyes with a smile.

They ironed out some details about the upgrades, and the clock finally got to its last three minutes.

"Well, kid, this is it."

"Yeah, thanks for everything. It was really good seeing you again."

"It really was, kid. Between the explorers I know, you are among my favorites," Peaches said.

"I'm flattered. Oh, and tell…. The kobold sisters, thanks for everything. I wish I had more time to get to know them better. They seem awesome."

"They really are. I'll let them know," Peaches smiled.

"Well. I'm going. Thanks again."

Hera took a step towards the door but stopped. Turning back, she picked Peaches and gave him a big hug.

"Argh, that's too sappy," despite his complaint, Peaches was smiling.

Going through the door leading outside, Hera began the transfer and was received by a cold water bath. The frost was so intense that it hurt. It felt like she had just jumped inside a frozen river. Her entire body froze up, but it wasn't without reprieve. A few small streams of scalding water hit her body in random places. It was a minor comfort in the middle of the cold. After what felt like hours, she finally emerged from the broken doorway, once more inside the mountain of Boothudurn.

"By the system, that's cold," Hera rubbed her arms, trying to heat up. When she arrived inside the reception, the feeling from the transfer vanished in an instant, "Maybe it was the healing that came from that place."

Hera kept rubbing her shoulders and chest while walking back towards her house. Since she spent 24 hours inside the test, it would mean that Blue should still be sound asleep. Silah wasn't around either, not like Hera was expecting her to be. The city didn't have any explorers. People would always pick other roles, assuming that being an explorer was about roaming around and didn't have any other special abilities. According to Silah and the others, there wasn't any explanation about the roles, so they all had to count on the information passed down from their ancestors.

It took about twenty minutes, but she finally arrived back in her place. After sitting on the couch, Hera felt all the exhaustion of the previous day wash over her. Only now she realized she had barely slept, not to mention she was hungry.

"First things first, I need food," Hera got up and prepared her mix of breakfast and lunch. She just made some BLTs and some hot milk. While eating, she opened her [Hunter's Catalogue] and checked the page that was talking about the griffons.

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Hunter's catalogue

Sky ruler's spawn – Level range: 5 - 8

Winged Beast – Wind affinity

Bonus effects: 15%

A griffon-like creature that is native of the Boothudurn peaks. It has powerful wings, and it can control the air. Their legs are strong enough to lift over 50 kilograms.

They hunt in packs and focus on one target before moving to another. With their cries, they can call for help. They are nimble in open spaces but have issues moving in tight areas.

The sky ruler's spawn enjoy high places and live high up in the mountains. Their hunting grounds tend to be the fields under their nests. Their diet is made mostly of sheep meat, but they will turn to alternative meat sources when food is scarce.

A barrier protects the Sky Ruler and its spawn from any effects that might originate from native Boothudurn dwarves. The origin of this barrier is unknown.

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There were more details such as height, weight, wingspan, and several other small pieces of information. Hera kept reading through it while she ate, hoping that it would give her any hints on how to deal with the griffons.

Hera didn't even notice when she fell asleep, much less when Blue picked her up and put her on the bed.