"Can I just ask one favor, then?" Blue turned to the party.

"Sure," Shane nodded.

"Can we agree on a time frame for this? Like, we will stay here for two weeks before going back?"

"Two weeks seems like a small amount of time for a proper exploration," Adriel replied.

"I know, but I miss my family, and I don't want them to worry even more about me. I'm not saying it has to be a hard deadline. And if we find something we all want to do, that's fine, I just want you all to have this on the back of your minds. I want to go home."

"How about this? We stuck around for one week, then we had this talk again. If we think we are still missing something, we stick around for one more week and then go back at the end of the second week. Because, in the end, if some of us want to explore this area, we can just find a way out and then come back," Shane suggested.

"I'm ok with that," Blue nodded. Last time, when she was stuck in Boothudurn with Hera, she didn't have an idea of how long it would take for her to get back. That made her even more anxious. Having a set date when they would go back made her feel much more comfortable.

"Just a question. What if we go into a dungeon, and it takes a few days to clear?" Adriel asked.

"I think we can deal with that on a case-by-case basis. There is no need to worry about something like that before we have to deal with it," Shane turned to Blue, "What do you say?"

"I agree," Blue nodded.

"Ok then. It's decided. Tomorrow, we are going to explore this room. Hera, I need to talk to you about one thing, though. You got that weird notification about the private room, right?" Shane turned to the Empress.

"I did. I wanted to check that with you, too," Hera nodded.

"What's going on?" Bonnie asked.

"Apparently, our private rooms got a change too. But I don't know anything else about it. I need to go there alone," Hera explained.

"Me too. Also, I'm going right now. I'm too curious to let it slide."

"I'll go with you. We can talk about what we figured out about this room later, especially since it shouldn't matter right now," the Empress got up, and the two of them left before anyone could follow. They told Sammy about where they were going, and the turtle said that he would make a path of petals showing the way back to his place. The steam coming from the waters was supposed to hide it from people.

As the two arrived back in the doorway, Shane shared with Hera all the information she got about this place from Siege. The enchanter agreed that it was her turn to use the guide skill to ask for directions, letting Hera go back to asking about the place. However, to make that more believable, they had to follow the same pattern as before. Hera would be the one with the bulk of information, while Shane only knew the direction they had to go to.

Thankfully, this seemed to be a very simple room to deal with. Monsters were not aggressive or territorial unless you provoked them, and there were a few dungeons spread around the area. Another interesting fact was that hidden in the steam and the caves of the room, there were a total of five doorways, not counting the one they used to get here. Shane focused more on getting more information about the monsters than anything else. She sent Hera the description and general fighting abilities of them, as well as some of the environmental issues they could encounter. Unfortunately, since the Empress didn't mention anything about the bottom of the valley before Shane called Siege, she didn't get any extra information about that place. Shane also praised Hera for being so quick to notice her hint. She got the information about the workshop from the guide, and tried being sneaky about it.

With that out of the way, the two of them touched the doorway and saw the notification.

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

Would you like to be transported to:

Temple of Sands - 11th layer:

[Yes] [No]

Or press the button below for your private room:

[Enter your Private Room]

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

So far, there was no difference, but the moment she touched the button, another notification appeared.

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

Would you like to enter your Private Room or access your Private Workshop?

[Private Room]

[Workshop]

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

"So that's how it works."

"Would you look at that?"

Hera and Shane spoke at the same time. They glanced at each other with a chuckle and chose to enter their own workshops. The familiar feeling of being covered in warm water washed over them, and soon they vanished from the room, only for each to appear alone in a familiar yet strange place.

Opening her eyes, Hera saw her private room. It still had the same colors and one of the views she set up as the screen wallpaper, and the layout of it was more or less the same. But instead of a living room with a bedroom attached to it, it was one large office-like place. In the center was a large table, and two walls were covered in various tools. This place was now very similar to where she completed her Crafter role test. The first thing she did was call Daskka out, she never stayed here without her herald, and just as the Empress took a step forward, there was a knock on the door. Looking back, she used the visor on the side of the entrance to see the guides she knew outside.

With a smile, Hera opened the door, "Hey guys!"

Peaches, Capri, Nina, Talpa, Ms. Jackie, Johnny, Berthellemy, Laika, Shiretaa, Ruma, and Lodi, were in the hallway outside. This wasn't the full list of guides she knew, but it was already a large number of them.

"Hey, kid. Glad to see you without that thing inside of you," Peaches smiled.

"We didn't see each other while I was cursed," Hera huffed.

"Yeah, but still."

"Hera. I really want to thank you," Johnny stepped forward, "You have no idea how much what you did mean to me."

"You don't need to thank me. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have my legacy. I can't imagine my life without them."

"I do, I really do, bro. Now the system can finally fix this to make sure nothing like that happens again. The thing is, the system couldn't make new rules to stop a new curse from showing up somewhere while the first curse was still around. I think it's something about how while something exists, it can't be changed or something. Because of that, my dude, every time something close to the curse showed up, I had to go check what it was and if it could end up creating the curse. When I said yes, it was a whole mess. We had to work like a bunch of lunatics to come up with plans to stop the thing, call in every favor in the book, and keep making random quests show up for anyone inside the room. It really sucked, bro. Now, the system already fixed that problem, and something like the curse can never be born again. Like, something that would wipe out an entire room still can show up somewhere, but if another nasty thing like that gets crapped by some wendigo or some shit, it will have some limitations, and it won't be able to leave the room. Or, if it can infect others like that, it will have to be weaker. Like a virus, where some people might get very bad, but others might be able to fight it off," Johnny brushed a small tear that was forming from his left eye. The liquid got stuck into the golden mane of the lion guide, "Now that is over. That nightmare is over."

The guide all looked at Johnny with a smile. Hera kneeled in front of him, "Want a hug?"

Johnny looked the Empress deep in her eyes, "Bro… I do… I really do, bro," he said before launching himself into her arms. The two shared a hug for a few moments. During that time, Peaches sneakily pulled Daskka to the side and talked to her about something.

"Thanks for that, bro," Johnny pulled back, wiping the beginnings of his tears once more.

"Anytime, you are surprisingly snug," Hera chuckled and greeted the rest of the guides properly. When they were all done, Laika turned to the Empress.

"Now, Hera. We need you to step outside your room."

"Yep. Pretty please. We need you to check the layouts you have for the workshop," Lodi said with a smile.

"Yeah, mum. Just leave the room," Daskka added, her tail wagging like that of a dog.

Hera frowned and stared at her herald, "Ok, I wasn't freaked out about this until now. What are you trying to do here?"

"Hey! Why are you suspicious now? What did I do?" Daskka gasped.

"I don't know, but if anyone here is trying to pull a prank, it's you."

"Well, I'm not ok," Daskka huffed.

"Don't worry. It's just a surprise we have for you, kid. I had Daskka helping out with the last details," Peaches smiled.

Hera stared Daskka down but walked out of her room, going into this hallway for the first time. The feeling here was just like what she felt when doing one of her role tests. This made sense since the system should've used the same blueprint to make this place.

"Ok, now close the door. When you try to open, a notification will appear," Ruma explained.

With a nod, the Empress did as she was told.

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

Would you like to enter your private room or one of the variations of your workshop?

[Private Room]

[Workshop - Relic]

[Workshop - Forge]

[Workshop - Hera's Special]

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

Hera glanced back at the guides," Hera's special?"

"We took the liberty to make you a few presets," Nina started speaking.

"One that followed what you saw in the Crafter role test. Peaches is the one who made that one," Talpa added.

"And another made by the magnanimous me. Being the ruler of a room filled with master craftsmen, I am well versed in the needs of a forge," Capri announced proudly.

"The last one is a group effort. We talked with a few guides who knew about… some stuff and used that to make one thing we think you will like," Shiretaa smiled.

"You can change that later if you want, honey. Or add more presets. You can have up to five, and to make a new one, you need to be inside the room," Jackie was in the back of the room, but her voice carried in the hallway.

"Ok, so all I need to do is press the Hera's Special option?" the Empress asked.

"That's correct," Berthellemy nodded.

Pressing that button made the door lock, and a small red light appeared above it, but that only lasted for five seconds before the door was unlocked, and the light was gone. Hera looked back and got some incentive nods from the guides, then opened the entrance to her new workshop.

Inside, things were very different. The walls all around the place were covered in gilded frames and cushioned glass cases, with a large open space in the center where a table and some simple engraving tools were located. Surrounding that table, several bean bags and soft pillows covered the ground. On the wall opposite the entrance, there was also a throne with a few snake heads on the armrests and a purple and orange motif. She walked forward, amazed by the sight. The idea of it being a workshop made her think that this place would only have simple tools and desks, not something so decorated. When approaching one of the glass cases, she realized how Daskka helped them. Right by the door, there was a single-hand axe, one that she recognized right away.

"Executioner," she said before noticing the small golden engraving under the case with that name engraved on it. To the side, there was an information plaque.

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

Executioner - Strength

Hand axe

Attribute scaling:

Intelligence: 3.3 Charisma: 3.1

Dexterity: 2.9 Agility: 1.65

Strength: 1.65 Luck: 1.65

Weapon Skill:

Executioner's strike.

Attacks that hit a vital spot in the target will deal 100% more damage.

Familiarity: 100%

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

As she reached out to touch it, she saw a screen appearing on top of the glass where some of the fights and moments she had with Executioner were playing as if it was the recap episode of a show. Hera smiled while touching the case, "What is this?"

"A trip through memory lane," Peaches replied.

"We imagined you would miss your old blades. And that, after getting the Blade Graveyard skill, you might want to remember the skills and powers each of them had," Berthellemy was floating closer to Hera.

"The Blademaster, as you know them, could do a similar thing with illusions. As a way to remember the fights they had," Johnny walked closer to the first case.

"We also talked with other guides that know about your legacy to get some recommendations. Apparently, this is something that could've helped many of the previous wielders," Ruma was floating on top of a small surfboard. Luckily there was no water under him.

"And since Daskka is the herald, we could connect her memories to the cases. That way, anytime you want, you can come here and remember them," Nina walked to the center of the room with Talpa by her side, who started speaking as they arrived near the table.

"You can also use this place to make some engravings, or," she gestured to Laika, who was to the left, on an empty part of the wall.

"You can use this to test some things," she tapped the wall, and the illusion that was on top of it broke, revealing a set of double doors that led to a large 7x7x7m room with a training dummy in the center. That part of the workshop looked like the arena of a coliseum.

"Even if the tools that are present here are not enchanted. For any prodigy, such as myself or you, a place to train is more than what is required to advance our knowledge," Capri stepped inside the arena and flew to the top of the stone training dummy.

"And, while here, you can always do this," Shiretaa reached out to a part of the arena Hera couldn't see and took out a hand axe that looked extremely familiar. It didn't take long for her to realize that this was, in fact, Executioner. But before she could comment anything about it, Shiretaa continued, "Keep in mind that this is not your lost blade, only a weapon that has the same size, weight, and scaling. The skill will not be present, but you can use this here to practice combat moves using them."

Jackie walked closer to Hera, "It sounds obvious, but the weapons you get from there won't be able to fly and move on their own, honey. Even if they look like your old blades, they are just weapons."

Hera smiled and looked once more through her Workshop if it could be called that. It was her personal throne room. A place for her and her court, specifically, a place that would be more like their home than anything else. She took a few steps to the side and saw how even her current blades were on display, or a copy of them at least.

"Guys… This is amazing. Thank you!" she said. And continued looking through everything. The guides just explained some of the features they added here, but soon, the subject changed, now being just like a party where friends were talking and hanging out. The weight of the curse was clearly lifted from everyone, not just Hera, and she was really happy to be able to do something like that. These people were amazing, and she could only hope that, in the future, the guides would still be as close to her as they were right now.