With Scryotra in the ground, Hera and the others gathered in front of the mantis head. The [Blade Graveyard] skill had run out just as the monster fell, and the old court members fell to the ground, becoming gravestones before disappearing into mist. The monster didn't have two sets of eyes, but it did have two mouths, and the lower one was capable of spitting acid. Looking at the guardian beast, everyone could see the scars and injuries it had sustained not just during the fight but across its entire life. Years of abuse were ingrained into its very being. They could also see the massive red eyes of the mantis head staring back at them, a mix of confusion, anger, and exhaustion showing on its face.

Feeling bad about the situation, Hera started to approach Scryotra, but the monster growled at her just after flinching. That caught the Empress off guard, but she realized the reason. The whip was still in her hand. She never actually hit the guardian beast with it, but the sound was enough to harm it. Hera looked at her hand and tossed the whip away, making it disappear while still clearly in sight of everyone.

"It's ok, It's ok. No one is going to hurt you anymore," Hera raised both hands to show she wasn't going to do anything against it.

"It feels a bit wrong to say that now," Bonnie scratched her head.

"I know, but it's not like we can just put it out of its misery. You saw how hard it was to hurt it," Hera replied without looking away from Scryotra.

"Yeah, but we still didn't get the notification about the quest complete. I don't think Scryotra is ready to stop," Alex sighed.

"Think we should try to put it to sleep?" Bonnie asked.

Hera continued approaching Scryotra, but this time, the monster didn't growled. It just watched her approach. The Empress didn't walk towards its mouth, instead moving up, closer to the eyes and forehead of the mantis. Everyone else was on edge, especially her court. She was dangerously close to the guardian beast, and if it tried to attack her, there was a big chance of the Empress getting hurt. Getting closer and closer, Hera was finally within arms reach of Scryotra and touched its head.

"It's ok. It's ok. You can rest now. No one will hurt you anymore," Hera said softly.

Scryotra just continued watching the Empress without moving. It was hard to tell if it was even able to understand her or not. Yet, she continued, rubbing its head like she was taking care of a wounded pet. Seeing that, the rest of the party started to slowly approach in the same way. They moved much slower than Hera, but eventually, they all reached the head of Scryotra and started petting it, telling it things were okay. After a few moments, the red mantis eyes started to lose their light, and the guardian beast let out one final breath. They all pulled back their hands, and in a few seconds, Scryotra dissolved like monsters in a dungeon were supposed to do. In the place where the middle of his massive body was located, there was a large rock with a small entrance where a single wooden door was located. The same door they used to enter this dungeon.

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You have completed the dungeon quest chain.

First-Time Rewards: On hold

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"What the…" before Hera could finish her thought, another notification appeared in front of her.

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You have discovered a hidden quest.

Scryotra recognized you as a Naga, leaving behind something for you.

If you accept what was left behind, the quest will be considered as the dungeon reward.

If you refuse what Scryotra left behind, you will receive the regular dungeon reward.

[Accept] [Refuse]

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"Oh? I didn't know this could happen," Hera said out loud.

"What happened?" Legan asked.

"Apparently, because of my connection with the Naga, Scryotra left something behind that triggers a quest. But this quest will replace the dungeon reward."

"Is that good?" Legan tilted his head.

"The final reward will probably be much better than most rewards I could get in this dungeon. When the system gives you a quest, you usually can expect something good," Hera continued.

"So, are you taking this quest?" Legan asked.

Hera just smiled, "I wouldn't be me if I said no," she pressed the accept button.

As soon as she did that, a small black piece of rock appeared in her hand. It was flat with round edges and about 2 cm thick with only 3 cm in diameter. In the center of it, there was a drawing of two claws going around each other with a red toothy maw in the center. Looking at the back, it just showed an uneven piece of rock. It didn't have any mana or anything of the sort. Just as she used her [Inspect], a new notification appeared.

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You have accepted the quest Scryotra's Resentment.

Scryotra still resents the Naga, who brought it so much pain and suffering. It left behind a piece of that resentment.

Solve Scryotra's resentment

Rewards: ????

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Scryotra's Resentment

Bound to Hera Quetzaveth

The materialization of Scryotra's resentment. While in your possession, monsters are more likely to be hostile to you, and rewards from dungeons will be reduced.

If the materialized resentment is more than 10 meters away from you, it will lose those effects. However, any progress made to solve the resentment will be reset.

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"Ok… this is… bad? Good? I don't know how to feel," Hera frowned.

"Why? What's that?" Bonnie asked.

The Empress showed the resentment to everyone, and they all agreed that this was weird. Having monsters be more hostile wasn't the end of the world as long as she didn't try to find something too dangerous. However, the reduced rewards were a big problem. Then again, she had the option of setting this aside and only coming to work on it when she actually knew what to do about it.

Hera turned to Nimbus and the others, "How about you guys? Are you feeling any different towards me?"

"I'm not," the Sentinel replied.

Livy took her bipedal form, "Me neither."

"My feelings for you remain the same," Lurize nodded.

"Ok. I know that was a bit of a stretch, but I wanted to make sure this wasn't messing with the legacy," Hera smiled.

"But I think it's a good idea for us to just head back to the city, right?" Alex suggested.

"Yeah, staying in the middle of the jungle while having monsters more likely to attack me doesn't sound good. I might even rush ahead with Nimbus."

"Or you can let one of us hold it. Then we stay more than 10 meters away from you," Helena took the rock and stepped away.

"I mean, that does work. But we need to be careful about the distance. Either way, what did you all get?" Hera changed topics.

"Some materials. They might be good for armor. And some gold. Around 300 thousand," Helena replied.

"I got a vial of acid, the gold, and some gems. I think they are more related to that gem crab that Lena found than anything," Alex was looking things over on her tablet without actually taking the rewards out.

"I got materials, too. Some of Scryotra's bones. I think I'll try to mix it with Timber. Maybe he can get that stealth ability too," Legan had a wide smile on his face.

"How about you, Bonnie?" Alex turned to the researcher, who was staring at her tablet with a worried expression.

"I got… cultists' robes. And a whip…. Do I look like Dormina or something?"

"I'm not sure… Give us a maniac laugh and say you will kill us all," Hera asked.

Bonnie huffed, "I'm not doing that!"

"C'mon. You are the one who asked. How can we be sure if you don't try to play the part?" Alex playfully bumped the researcher's shoulder.

"I'm not doing that! I'm not a tyrant like that crazy snake!" Bonnie walked off towards the dungeon's exit.

They laughed for a moment before following her, and this time, they went straight back to the city. The idea of someone else carrying Scryotra's Resentment worked great, even if it was a bit complicated to remember to stay more than 10 meters away at all times. During that time, everyone was giving ideas on what Hera could do to solve the resentment. Their first idea was to go back to the dungeon and save Scryotra from Dormina. They would likely have to wait until they reached the underground village before attacking the cult leader, but it felt like the right thing to do. And even if that didn't work, they would at least have a cathartic moment since she tortured the monster so much. Hera and Helena also argued that doing that might be what triggered the hard mode of the dungeon. The other idea of just waiting for Scryotra to tire itself out during the last quest chain seemed like the intended way of finishing the dungeon.

When Hera had enough mana, she asked Yarnball how to solve the resentment, but that didn't work. It was a long shot, and the Empress believed that only the guide of the room could help with that. As a matter of fact, she was seriously considering calling them to talk about that. After all, if this was where Scryotra died, the guide should remember what happened in the guardian beast's last days. Another thing that could be related to the resentment were its bones. In horror stories, there was always something about finding and giving the remains of ghosts a proper burial to appease their rage. Sure, one in three of those stories would toss a curve ball where doing that only made things worse, but it was something to consider, at least. The main problem with that idea were the stealth spirits that lived around Scryotra's bones. If they were also affected by the resentment, getting close to that place while carrying the stone could be almost a death sentence.

Hera also considered using that essence extractor that was in her private room to try to distill the resentment and maybe split it apart like a chemical. However, that was a big issue by itself. For one, she had no idea if that was even possible. Not knowing if doing that would cancel the quest was the other issue. Either way, theta agreed not to try anything today. After all, they spent a long day in the dungeon and already had a good amount of information for their efforts. Not to mention some materials that could be very useful for the right people.

Later that night, when Shane and the other Royal Explorers also got back, they held a meeting to share anything they had discovered. The dungeon closest to the city was a decent source of food, although it wasn't just meat like the one in Boothudurn. Here, they could gather meat, fruits, and even fish if they were going in the right direction. 'Trouble in the Jungle' was a dungeon that asked you to pick a side and then help their issues. The sides were all different species of animals who were being attacked by some type of predator. The type of predator they faced would dictate the type of food they would find. Land sharks would give them fish, insects, fruits, and mammals meat.

The 'Naga's Ambition' dungeon was a place that explained what the large doors protecting Deakoshara were. There was some prophecy about a grave danger that would reach the Naga civilization, and one of its Emperors went a bit crazy because of it. They tried to create a perfectly safe place in their capital by cutting off all access to it. Even stranger was the fact they seemed to use one of the walls of the MAZE as a base to create their own protection. However, the dungeon didn't have any details about how the doors were actually made, except that they were removed from Zaxalam. The entire dungeon was focused on heavy lifting. Carrying the massive doors around, prospecting them from monsters, and then putting them in place.

Shane was a bit frustrated about that, but when she learned more about Scryotra and the cult, she perked right up. This was much more interesting to the enchanter. After that meeting that lasted a couple of hours, they all went back home to rest. Those who wanted could continue searching for things in the room the next day, but those who wanted a brake were also welcome to do so. Hera had one more conversation with Shane, Legan, and Trillian about the guide, confirming if they had any questions they needed answers to or if she could focus on what she wanted to find out. In the end, that was the best way to go about solving Scryotra's resentment. Instead of just throwing things in a wall to see what sticks, she could ask someone who knew more about the being that was, once upon a time, a guardian beast.