After Alex and Blue left her private room, Hera went to the bathtub and started messaging the guides. She used the group chat to explain the title and how she got it. That didn't come as a surprise for anyone, since they were aware of what she did, but some details caught them off guard. According to the guide of this room, there wasn't a single person who looked at the hole in the cave and survived. Even going inside there was a risk, and five in ten people would get really sick or have part of their mana sucked out of their bodies just by being there. Unfortunately, they also didn't have any information about what the title actually did. They were more than happy to help her figure those things out, but it would have to be after she completed all the challenges. For now, they had to hold back their interactions to avoid giving anything away. That was not something the guides decided themselves, but one of the rules made by the guide of this room. Even the amount of messages they could send was somewhat limited. All in the name of protecting the mystery behind the challenges.

That being said, Peaches and Laika mentioned that she looked different when they saw her inside the race challenge. It was hard to grasp why, but having heard about the title and how she is supposed to be more in tune with mana, things made sense. It wasn't all bad news. They added that at first glance, it didn't seem like there was anything wrong with her. The guide of the room also said that getting the title shouldn't come with any danger. Even if they couldn't tell what the title did, when someone received the title inside the room, the respective guides would know whether the title was something to be wary of or not.

When Hera came out of the bathroom, she was drying her hair with a simple warm gust of wind spell. While doing that, she called her entire court to the living room, "How are you all feeling? Did the title affect anyone?"

"I… think it did. My magic seems… I don't know, more intense," Nimbus pulled some mana and tried to create a shield around his hand. Surprisingly, that was very easy to do and even gave him a new skill.

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Mana Shield (Rank 1)

Creates a layer of protection around a target. The size and shape of the shield can be tweaked to fit your needs. The shield absorbs impact and is broken if the damage passes its threshold. The amount of mana used to create the shield will change the threshold of damage it can withstand. The shield has a natural resistance to damage.

Base Mana cost: 300 mana

Damage reduction: 30%

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"Wow… was it that easy?" Hera looked at Nimbus.

"Honestly, yeah. But the idea came from Capri. Also, I have a lot more mana now."

"How much?"

"My maximum is about 50 thousand."

Hera nodded with a surprised expression. In the morning, the Sentinel only had around 23 thousand mana. His increase was bigger than even her own. She turned to the rest of the court, "How about you guys?"

"I think we are in the same boat," Core replied, "We feel like our skills are… better, somehow."

"I would like to add that I feel more present now," Lurize chimed in

"What do you mean?" Hera tilted her head.

"It's hard to say, but even when I'm out. Things are more or less a blur. The feeling is similar to when you are drunk, Empress. Not to say that my abilities were impaired, but it was somewhat hard to remember things. Now I feel more…. Here," Lurize explained.

That was the only big difference. Everyone else felt mostly the same, but when Hera tried to cast spells through them, all her blades agreed that it had a change. It wasn't exactly easier or harder, for that matter. It was just different.

"Daskka? How about you?" Hera turned to the herald.

"I… don't know. I can't say I feel that much different, but right now, I feel like my mana is kind of split. As if it's oil and water, you know," Daskka explained.

"Well… you get your mana from me, sort of. Maybe if you spend it all and I top you up, you can feel the difference," Daskka accepted the suggestion and started casting some spells just to get rid of her mana. After that, Hera sent her mana to the necklace and, little by little, replenished what Daskka spent. As soon as the mana started to enter her body, the snake did a few laps around the room as if she was a dog who just got excited, "Wow! Is this what you guys are feeling? This feels amazing!"

"Really?" Hera and Nimbus asked.

"Yeah! It's like when you drink a lot of coffee, mum. But without the shaking and the bitter taste," Daskka nodded vigorously.

Nimbus stared at her for a while before closing his eyes, trying to feel his mana again. Yet, he couldn't get the same feeling that Daskka mentioned. With a shrug, he chalked that off as it being something because of Hera or the legacy. Hera didn't catch his struggle and just decided to finish changing before going back to the camp outside. Aside from Adriel, everyone was already there cooking the fish. The elf ended up falling into the water when he got a big one, and he wanted to take a shower and remove the saltwater from his clothes before eating.

During dinner, Helena sat by Hera's side. She was still somewhat far away but close enough so they could have a private conversation.

"Hey, sweetie. Alex told me you are struggling with the title. Apparently, you are seeing us in a different way. More specifically, our mana," Helena smiled and took a bite of her fish. Seeing that Hera had just stopped eating and was staring at the fish in her hand, the mage continued, "Are you afraid of me now?"

Hera couldn't deny that, and she didn't want to hurt Helena's feelings, "I'm not afraid of you. Not really, but when I look at you, I get a weird feeling. Like staring out in the woods at pitch black darkness. Again, that doesn't mean I'm scared of you, Lena, but I do get scared when I look at you."

"I see… honestly, I was half expecting something like that to happen sooner or later. I just imagined it was Bonnie who would act like that since she focuses more on spells than you. But I really hoped this wouldn't happen again," Helena looked toward the ocean.

"What do you mean again?" Hera turned to Helena. It was easier to look at her now. It was already night, and looking at the islands or the ocean already gave her a very similar feeling of 'fear of the unknown,' making the mage blend with her surroundings.

"I don't think I ever told you this. Actually, I'm sure of it. A long time ago, I was dating someone who got a skill that allowed them to see other people's mana. It worked kind of like what you're telling me. When they looked at someone with fire mana, they would have the feeling of seeing something hot. If it was ice mana, then it would be like seeing something cold and so on."

"Did they also feel afraid when they looked at you?"

"He did. We tried to make it work for a few months, but he was jumpy every time he got close to me," Helena let out a long sigh, "That's the problem with the skills that people used to see affinity. It never gave an actual word or phrase explaining it. It was all about feeling. And that causes problems since people will react differently to various things. If someone almost drowned, they would see water mana as something scary, for instance. That's why I was so dedicated to finding a more streamlined way of seeing mana. Something that was connected to the system, and it would give us a name and not just a feeling. As much as I say it was to help others and make people more capable of dealing with threats, it was mostly selfish. I did all that because I didn't want to go through something like that again."

"And I am making you go through that again. I'm sorry, Lena," Hera grabbed the mage's hand.

Helena squeezed Hera's hand, "It's okay, sweetie. I know you are not doing this on purpose. In the case of my ex, he got the skill even after I warned him about what could happen. Also, we still don't know how your title Works. Maybe there's a way to change that, or you can get used to me. But if you feel like my presence is too much of an issue, let me know, ok?"

"It will never be, Lena. Just because I'm somewhat afraid of the dark doesn't mean I want you to be away. You don't have to worry about that. Ever."

Helena smiled, but Hera could see some sadness in her eyes. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything Hera could do now to reassure her. The rest of the night was uneventful, Adriel joined the rest of the group at the campsite, and everyone ate before going to bed. This time, Helena suggested sleeping in Shane's room, but Hera refused. Her argument was that the more time they spent together, the faster Hera would get used to the odd feeling she got from the mage's mana.

When morning came, Nimbus once again became the mount that carried the group to the Sitlacan Island, the third island where the race challenge was located. Hera was still feeling the effects of her new title. However, she spent a couple of hours in the middle of the evening watching Helena sleep to get used to the effects of the shadow mana that came from her body. It was a very creepy thing to do, and that fact did not escape her, but she felt like it was the best option she had at the moment. Doing that when Helena was awake could hurt the mage's feelings, especially when it became too much and the Empress had to look away. This was another thing she realized as she tried to watch her friends during the night. At a first glance, she could just identify what kind of mana they had, but if she focused, it was almost as if the mana was looking back at her. That felt too much like what was swallowing the snakes in the well, while at the same time, it was on a much smaller scale. What worried her the most was the possibility of harming her friends because of that. The title said that pure mana had some sort of gravity. If she, somehow, had a similar effect to that, maybe their mana would be attracted to her. That wasn't something she was willing to risk.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at the entrance of the challenge. Hera gave everyone a refresher on what they should expect inside, and after a quick conversation, they all headed to the door frame inside the island that was like a sinkhole in the middle of the ocean.

Walking inside the challenge, Hera saw all the guides once again, but this time they weren't just relaxing. Each of the guides was in front of a statue with a vehicle of sorts by their side.

"I hope you are not thinking about running away this time," Nina smirked.

Hera squinted at her, "It was a strategic retreat. But I guess you wouldn't mind beating someone who almost died earlier that day. After all, that would be the only way you would have a chance, right?"

Talpa snorted, "You know, your trash talk is getting better."

"Thanks. I looked up some videos last night," Hera admitted as she called her court out, "So, do I have to know anything else about this race?"

"Just that we are going all out. Our mounts have the same top speed as Nimbus, and they also get tired, in a way. So it's a fair fight," Kelpi explained as he got closer to a statue of a armored monkey with a seahorse to the side.

"And everything goes here? Like, are there any rules?" Hera asked.

"You have to pass through the checkpoints, but you can do whatever you want to get there. Hitting us to remove some competition is also fair game, but the moment you do so, we can do the same," Laika was on top of a clockwork donkey with a statue of a humanoid crocodile to the side.

"Ok then," Hera turned to the Sentinel, "Are you ready?"

Nimbus nodded and changed his form, and all the guides walked to their respective statues and mounts. Soon they all began to move to the starting line. Before going inside his armor with a crystal crown, Peaches turned to Hera, "As soon as you are in position we can start. Feel free to prepare if you need."

Hera nodded and turned to Nimbus for some last minute preparations and a few moments later, she was in the starting line, ready to begin the race.