After crossing to the next room, Hera could feel her heart beating extremely fast. Layer 18 was one of the layers where the level range of monsters was very wide. Some cities would exist on this layer where people with children would live, even if the monsters in the area should be between levels 20 and 60. What worried her the most was the fact that some of those rooms would only have strong monsters. All of this meant that there was a chance they had just walked inside a death trap. Then again, no one seemed to mind that as they were crossing. Hera figured that Helena, Shane, and Adriel would be aware of the level range, but still, there wasn't an ounce of hesitation between them.

It took a moment for the Countess to realize that she was currently alone, but it didn't take long to realize why. When she crossed the doorway, she was expecting to end up in another underwater cavern or something along those lines. Instead, she was just by a small cove, and beyond it, there was a beautiful blue sky and crystal clear water that allowed people to look all the way to the bottom of the ocean. She stepped forward, noticing the sand beneath her feet and the footprints heading to the left. Everyone was on a white sand beach, looking around the area with expressions of wonder.

"You know," said Helena. "I've never seen anything like this before."

"Isn't it beautiful?" asked Adriel.

Hera turned towards their voices. "What's so special about this?"

"That," Shane pointed to the ocean.

Hera looked over, unsure what she was talking about. However, once her eyes followed Shane's finger, she understood. In the middle of this ocean was a massive sculpture of a sea creature. It had the tail of a fish made in some sort of translucent crystal that seemed to be warping the light around it ever so slightly, a long humanoid torso with four tentacles coming out of its shoulders, and the head was the top of a jellyfish with its tendrils falling back into the waters. From this distance, the sculpture was even taller than the volcano on an island behind it. Yet, the colors seemed to blend and mix together, giving the statue a fragile look, even if that was impossible considering its size.

A slight breeze blew against Hera's cheeks, making her hair flutter and creating a veil of pearls around her. The wind also helped keep the sand from getting too hot when it touched her skin. Yet, when she tried to touch those pearls, they popped like soap bubbles, "What is this place? Are we safe here?" she asked.

"We should be safe. Why wouldn't we?" Adriel turned to Hera with a confused expression.

"Because this is the 18th layer. Monsters here should go to level 60, shouldn't they?"

"Oh no. You got it wrong, sweetie. In the 18th layer, you won't ever find a monster stronger than level 20 outside a dungeon. Inside it, it's a bit different," Helena explained without looking away from the giant statue.

"Really? But I remember some people talking about rampages and how they had to gather a bunch of strong people for it."

"Well. Rampages are a bit of a special case, but I don't think we have to worry about something like that here. There are not enough people to trigger one," Helena continued.

Hera paused for a moment before turning to the statue again, "So, does anyone have any ideas what that is?"

"This is the statue of the God of Water. They grant us the ability to travel across the oceans with ease. Or at least, that's what the Naga used to call it," Shane replied without missing a beat.

"Really? How can you be sure?" Hera asked.

"Some of the tombs had pictures of this statue. I just never imagined that it would be here. From what I understand, the ability part is something granted by the system, but the name was something the Naga came up with."

"Ok... and are we sure we won't find high-level monsters here?" Hera pressed. She was still worried about that possibility and couldn't understand why everyone else was so cavalier about it.

"I won't say I'm 100% sure because we don't know enough about the MAZE. But if we find anything above level 20, it will be a first," Adriel replied.

Hera let out a sigh of relief. At the same time, she felt bad for doubting them and wondering why they weren't being more careful.

The group moved down the beach, admiring the scenery. As they reached a small campsite with a fire pit and some logs around for people to sit down. Beyond it, they found other statues spread throughout the area. Each of them depicted an animal or an object. When Hera tried to inspect the one showing an open box with something covered in fabric inside, a different notification appeared in front of her.

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

What was once created is now lost, waiting for the one who will find it.

Cratic Island challenge incomplete

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"What? This doesn't make much sense," Hera said out loud.

"Agreed. This one just says, 'What is in your path shall not stop you,'" Blue pointed to a sculpture of a pile of coconuts.

"That's it? doesn't it have an island name attached to it?" Bonnie asked.

"It does, but I have no idea where Sitlacan is," Blue replied.

"Maybe it's one of the islands in this room?" Alex suggested.

"That would make sense. We are in the Seven Islands room. Maybe each of those statues represents one island," Shane nodded.

Everyone turned to the sculptures surrounding them and then to the ocean. With a quick glance, they could see seven distinct islands around them. Above the islands was a large cloud formation that seemed to be made up of many smaller clouds directly on top of the God of Water statue.

Hera shook her head, realizing she was getting too far from the doorway. She pulled her tablet to see if there was any internet connection here, and, unfortunately, she had no bars, "Hang on. Let's go back to the doorway before moving around here. I just want to confirm if we can talk to the others while here."

"Right. We need to figure out a plan to get back. Going through that nest again won't be easy," Adriel turned to Hera, "Wait. Where is your tiara? And the earrings? Also, what was that bird thing that was pulling the drones? Where are they?"

Everyone glanced at Hera before looking away. No one wanted to be the one to explain that, and in the end, it was something Hera had to do herself.

"Yeah... about that..." Hera let out a sigh, "First. Let me just tell you that I didn't tell you sooner because I didn't know you well enough for that. It wasn't like I didn't trust you, but at the same time, it was that I didn't trust you enough."

"What are you talking about? I understand that you don't trust me enough. After all, we just met a couple of months ago. But what was that thing?"

"So... it is a friend of mine. Kind of like a construct but not quite," Hera tried to explain, still feeling a bit weird.

"A construct? I've never seen something like that. They were too alive to be a construct, and they could speak. Don't get me wrong, but you are too new at all of this to make something that powerful. And I doubt you got it as a reward or had enough money to buy something like that. Unless... Do you have a legacy?" Adriel asked, point blank.

"I do," Hera nodded, "Nimbus, the bird person you saw, it's an advanced part of my legacy," she summoned her blades around her, "I can absorb weapons and call them out later. I can change it as I wish, but in Nimbus' case, he also got a body. It's a bit complicated, but he is on our side. My court is unable to hurt me or go against my direct orders," Hera gave a superficial explanation since the details felt a bit too personal.

Adriel nodded, "I see... I understand why it was a secret you might want to hide. Don't worry. That information is safe with me. I'm just sorry that you had to show everyone else too. But then again, it must have been hard to lie to everyone."

"Actually... Everyone here knows," Hera scratched her cheek.

Adriel looked to Alex, who nodded, then Shane and Mylo, who looked away, "How about the rest of the Royal Explorers?"

"I mean... I lived with them for almost a year. So I knew everyone for much longer than I've known you."

Adriel let out a long sigh, "Like. I get it but damn."

"If it helps. Alex has been bugging me to tell you for a while now. I've told her I just wanted to know you better before sharing this secret."

Adriel just shrugged and asked a few more questions about Hera's legacy as they walked back to the doorway. To make it easier on herself, she called Nimbus, which only increased the elf's curiosity. It didn't take long for them to arrive back in the doorway and confirm that they had some internet connection when they were this close to the Shtylla Archipelago.

While Hera was sending messages to the Royal Explores, Shane walked to the doorway, "I'm going to check if the monsters are close to the entrance. I can use my shields if I need to come back in a hurry."

"I don't think that's a good idea. We should wait some more before going back there. Give time for the monsters to settle down," Helena frowned. Crossing a doorway would never put them at risk, but that was only considering natural hazards. Monsters could still decide to attack, even if the doorways themselves would repel most creatures.

"Don't worry. I'll be... What the hell?" Shane gasped.

"What?" Hera turned to her.

"I can't cross the doorway! It says we need to complete the challenge in all seven islands."

"Really? Bonnie asked, and everyone got closer to touch the doorway.

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To cross the doorway to a new room, you must complete all the challenges in the Seven Islands room.

Challenges complete 0/7

Or press the button below for your private room:

[Enter your Private Room]

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

"Well… at least we still have our private rooms," Hera sighed.

After a while, Adriel asked, "So, what's the plan from here?"

As always, the answer was simple. They would continue exploring the 18th layer until they found a way to leave. Since they had to figure out the challenge, the statues were their first clue. However, before leaving the area by the doorway, Hera sent a few texts to the Royal Explorers, Rutigan, and her dad, explaining what had just happened and how they were stuck until they completed the challenge. To make matters worse, they only had one week before someone had to open the reef passage again. Hera wasn't sure if there was a way to open that path while close to the doorway. It was very likely, and they had other ways to get out as a last-case resort, but still, it was another thing she had to worry about.

Hera went over the message she sent to her father but removed most of the details. He already knew about the MAZE and the existence of the Royal Explorers. The only things she left intact were that she was safe and managing to deal with the situation. She also added that her party was wearing the new model of bracelets, which should be able to show her vitals to the guild even if she was several rooms away. The last time Hera got stuck, her dad ended up having a funeral for her; this time, she didn't want him to do the same. Having to bury his daughter once was more than enough, and she never wanted to make him go through something like that again.

When satisfied with the message, she hit the send button and started heading to the campsite with the rest of the group. They might be running against the clock, and Hera didn't want to waste any more time.