"Ok… so let me get this straight. Our options right now are completing all the challenges before sundown tomorrow, searching for the next doorway and going to a place that is also above our level, or hunkering down somewhere with enough food for a month?" Bonnie was rubbing her temple.

"That's basically it," Hera nodded while still working on her skinning knife. She had no idea what they would decide to do, and if they decided to rush the challenges, she had to do her part. Not to mention she wasn't in the mood to talk while doing nothing. Her mind was still on the God of Water and what had happened to her. Why did they decide that a creature like that was a threat? According to Ruma, she was peaceful. All of this also reminded her of Chika and how the people of the guild killed her without any reason.

"Hera, can you stop while we discuss this?" Bonnie asked. The rest of the party was in a circle in the middle of the forge.

"No. I can't," Hera replied bluntly.

"Would you like to share the reason with the class?" Bonnie crossed her arms.

"I'm paying attention to everything you guys are saying, and if I miss something, my court will help me out. I told you guys everything that I found out there, well, everything that's relevant, at least. I also found that a Naga was the last person to come here from the archipelago, and they used the hard-to-reach doorway to leave. But like I said, that's not relevant," Hera continued carving the piece of rosewood she chose to make the handle of her knife. According to the book, she would have to wait about three hours before being able to continue working with the metal she melted.

"So you were wasting time trying to find out more about the Naga instead of figuring out a way for us to get out of here?" Bonnie scoffed.

Hera took a deep breath, "No. I did my best to figure out a way for us to get out of here without getting killed, but in the end, I had no more questions to ask. And it wasn't like I could stop and come back to ask your opinion about it. This thing that we do has a time limit, and I can only use that short window to figure things out. I didn't want to waste the last bit of time that I had, so I asked other questions, the first things that popped into my head. And for the record. I didn't have a chance to process this. Working with this helps me concentrate, and since I'm not doing any small details, I can still pay attention to the conversation while making this knife," she looked up towards Bonnie, "I know that you're scared. I know that the idea of getting stuck here or even beyond this place is not great. But Blue and I already went through something like that, and we came back, and this time, we are not alone."

"I… I'm sorry," Bonnie toned it down, realizing that her emotions were all coming from the fear she was feeling, "I just… don't like the idea of going to another place filled with monsters."

Hera nodded, "I know. And I know that this is partially my fault. I'm the one that figured out where the doorway was and brought us here. But we are going to figure out a way to get back. We just might need to take a bigger detour."

Bonnie nodded, and the group continued discussing their options. At the same time, Hera started to have a conversation with her court, 'Scythe, can you pay attention to both conversations?'

'Sure can!' the earrings replied in a chirpy tone.

'Thanks. Let me know if I need to say anything to them, but I want to know what you guys think. I mean everyone,' Hera glanced at Nimbus, Daskka, and the rest of her blades.

'I think we should look for the doorway Ruma told us about. The one on the last island but not in a place where people would look for,' Nimbus replied.

'That is safer now, but it might not be in the long run. Ruma said that doorway would take us to the 15th layer. So we will be in the middle of monsters from levels 47 to 50. That is much worse than the ones we might see here,' Daskka shook her head.

'But it's not like we know where it is, right? All we know is that it would take a lot to find the doorway to the 12th layer,' Core added.

'Yes, but that doesn't mean it would take much to find it. Ruma might be saying it would take a lot for it to be unlocked. Like the one in the Kobold Field that took Hera to Boothudurn. If I remember the story correctly, it only opened when the ground broke open during a battlefield, and lava was rising from the abyss,' Lurize was floating on the other side of the workbench.

'If we somehow find that one, the doorway that leads to the 12th layer. How strong will the monsters be?' Ooze asked.

'They should get up to level 36, but some might be as weak as level 5. The 12th layer is another of the weird ones,' Armory, being the group's strategist, had that information on the tip of her metaphorical tongue.

'That is much more manageable than anything else. Maybe we should try to find that doorway. It's not like you don't have ways of discovering information, Empress.' Frost tapped Hera's waist, where Yarnball was located.

'It is an idea, but we need to consider the cooldown and what questions to ask. Any ideas?' Hera asked.

'Empress, they are calling you. In essence, their conversation was the same as ours. Now they are asking if Yarnball can figure something out,' Scythe interrupted.

Hera turned to the party, "I was thinking just that. But before going for it, we should decide which doorway we will look for. The easy one that will bring us to the 15th layer, or the hidden one that will take us to the 12th?"

"Can't we try both?" Blue asked.

"We could, but we need to keep the cooldown in mind. I can only ask a single question every 2 hours, and if the question is too much, it won't work. I'm positive that asking point blank where the doorway is will be a waste."

"Why is that?" Adriel asked.

"Because the broader the question, the more mana it consumes. Like, if I ask, 'Where is the doorway to the 12th layer?' Then all the doorways to that layer will be included in the question. Now, if I ask something like, 'Is the doorway close to the last island?' I can get a more straightforward answer. Then we go from there."

"But we already know that it's close to the last island, don't we?" Mylo asked.

"We do. This was all an example. But one thing we could try is this," Hera pulled up a random map on her tablet and split into several sectors as if she was setting up a battleship board, "If we set it up like this, it's easier for us to figure out the general area where the doorway is located."

"Oh, that's a good idea. But we can only check that when the sun is out…." Bonnie was looking at the map, already thinking about the way to phrase the questions to minimize the number needed to get to the result.

"Maybe not," Blue smirked and summoned her flying cloud to her side, "I can go there and look around. I'm not using this to carry anyone because I have to move fast when I'm on top of it, and it can only carry me. I'm still getting the hang of this, but since I managed to use it during the race, I think I can use it now. "

"Going alone is a bad idea. I know you're not used to that spell? ...skill? Whatever, what if it breaks before you can come back? Or if you are too high?" Helena asked.

"Then I'll go with her. Nimbus can fly over the forest. He can carry me outside, and then I'll be with Blue while we scout the area," Hera turned to the Sentinel, who nodded in agreement.

"I think it's better if you Ask a question before you go. We don't know how long it will take for you to come back. If it's over two hours, we won't have wasted so much time," Shane suggested.

Hera nodded and asked a question that was already on her mind, "The doorway that will take us from this room to a room in the 12th layer is located near which of the seven islands?"

'Beyond the Tacritan island.'

"Tacritan… which one is that?" Hera looked at the group, but it seemed like none of them knew, "Ok, so it is in one of the two next islands… At least we know that if we decide to look for it."

"Ideally, we would find it. Going to the 12th layer sounds much better than the 15th," Alex sighed.

"Do you still have enough mana, Hera?" Blue turned to her friend.

"Enough for an emergency. Let's go. I can recover while we are traveling," Hera moved to the entrance tunnel, followed by her court and Blue. She didn't want to wait too much to do something. For a while now, she realized that having a discussion with a larger group would make things much more complicated and make her waste time without reason.

Outside, Blue created a cloud near the ground and jumped on top of it. Lightning tendrils from her hands came out and latched onto the cloud, allowing Blue to keep her footing while flying. The controller pulled the cloud and took to the skies. Nimbus followed along with Hera in his arms. However, he wasn't moving as fast as his new aerial companion. If it was on the ground, he would be faster, but speed wasn't his strength when he was flying.

"Are you ok there?" Hera asked since Blue was moving fast around the forest, spinning around and doing some erratic turns.

"Yeah. I can't be slow with this, or the cloud will vanish. I feel like a hummingbird."

"A hummingbird?" Nimbus asked.

"Yeah, don't they die if they stop flapping their wings?"

"What? No, they can land and sleep just fine," Hera replied.

"Really? Where did I hear that, then?" Blue asked but continued moving around.

"How should I know?" Hera asked. A few minutes passed, and they managed to get beyond the forest. There, Nimbus put the Empress down and changed to his mount form since it was much more comfortable for both of them.

As they returned to the sky, Blue tried to slow down by constantly changing her altitude. That way, she wouldn't be that far from the others, "This feels like old times, doesn't it?"

Hera looked at her, "How so?"

"You and me, stuck in a random room trying to find a way to get back home and realizing that we have to get stronger and do a bunch of shit just to go back."

Hera chuckled, "I mean, you have a point, but at the same time, things are very different. We are not alone, for instance."

"But we are figuring out that our first plan has a second part that is going to take who knows how long."

"That is very broad. It doesn't count."

"Fine, we are the only two who are willing to take a risk and scout what we need. Better?" Blue rolled her eyes.

"Ok, that one is better, but it's not so much willing as we are the only ones who can do it safely. And now we have legacies. I mean, c'mon. Are you telling me that you ever imagined that you would be flying through the air in a cloud when we arrived in Boothudurn?" Hera smiled.

"No, but now you have something powerful, and I don't."

"Don't be jealous. As far as I can tell, the only thing that the title gave me is more mana, and let me see some of the things that use mana in a different light," Hera replied.

"Oh yeah. Because having more mana is completely useless," Blue rolled her eyes, but she moved a bit too much doing so and started to spin with her cloud. A few moments later, she managed to steady herself again.

"How about we avoid making any wide movements when flying?" Hera smirked as they continued heading toward the next island. They had to scout two and try to figure out what their names were. If that didn't work, Hera would have to waste one of her questions to find that out, which wouldn't be great, but at least it was a plan. What they didn't know was that if this was happening during the day, it would be easy to see the storm brewing on the horizon, but since the sun had already set, that line of dark clouds eluded their view.