After getting Hera out of the wendigo lair, the group also removed the bodies from the cocoons to take them back to the city. Vash and Roan were also able to find the remaining party members. It was a mage who managed to use an ice prison skill on himself. That created an ice tomb with him inside it. That was too strong for the wendigo to break. Another benefit of that skill was that whatever was inside would be in stasis as long as there were no living creatures nearby. However, that was just a temporary measure. That skill cost more than his regeneration could cover, but it would only take mana away if he were awake. When the stasis was in effect, his mana would also freeze, allowing him to stay there forever as long as no one got close. It was something anyone would only do if they had other options, and this was the case. The triton mage was very injured. It wasn't to the point of being unable to survive, but he couldn't fight anything at the moment. Especially with the small amount of mana he currently had. He only stayed inside the ice prison in hopes that someone would be able to reach the city and ask for help.

Vash gave him one of their healing potions before bringing him to Neria so she could take care of the men properly. Seeing his teammates dead ended up being too much of a shock for the mage, and he passed out inside the tunnel. Thankfully, Hera had her court, so they had more than enough hands to carry everything out. Back in the Alliance Center, Neria took the three bodies to the infirmary. She had already done a quick diagnosis of the mage, and he seemed to be doing well, albeit suffering from exhaustion. Now, she was studying the bodies of the two people who were found in the cocoons. As cruel as it might sound, she had to make sure they were just 'stored food' and that the wendigo didn't do anything else with their bodies. The group had split again. Flint, Roan, and Skyler were in the butchery disassembling the rest of the wendigo while Hera and Vash were with Neria. The Empress was requested on both locations, but since she still remembered the parasites that were eating up Helena's mana for a while, she wanted to be here to help confirm the type of things the wendigo could've done to them.

Neria took blood samples while Hera scanned the mana inside the bodies and Vash used a spell to make a more precise ultrasound on their bodies. So far, nothing seemed to be out of order. The bodies were just that, mangled bodies, but that was it. There was nothing that could show they were being changed or used to incubate something else. However, this was just the start. This group wasn't the most well-versed in this kind of thing, but the Alliance requested a preliminary study while they sent a team to gather the bodies. Unlike Hera's party, they would be specialists in wendigo physiology.

As they continued with their testing, Merrik arrived. Azi had told him the hunting party was back, and he came to see what had happened with them. The elf entered the infirmary and saw the two bodies, with a third one hidden behind a curtain. He closed his eyes, holding back some tears, and turned to the three people alive in the room.

"Thank you for bringing them back. I… I couldn't imagine that even their bodies would be gone. I didn't know how to tell their families that," he glanced at the body hidden by the curtain, only the silhouette appearing due to the light. "I just have to think of a way not to let their parents see them like this… It doesn't feel right," he could only imagine how bad the mage would be if he was hidden like that.

Neria, who thought she found something odd in the blood sample, quickly glanced back. From her point of view, Merrik was looking at the woman who lost part of her torso, "There are some people who can make some natural prosthetics. That way, they can at least have an open casket."

"Oh… thank you. I just…" before Merrik finished, he saw the body behind the curtain getting up slowly. Like a zombie who was rising from the grave, "FUCK!" he yelled and flung a dagger at the moving body.

Hera caught the movement from the corner of her eye and yelled, "Nimbus!" The Sentinel was able to appear and create a mana shield to stop the attack. The Ophidianite turned to Merrik, "What the fuck was that?!"

"That thing is moving!" Merrik pointed at the body behind the curtain.

"Oh, excuse me! Next time I'll stay dead, you fucking prick!" the mage grumbled and pulled the curtain.

"Simon?! You are alive?" Merrik gasped.

"Despite your best efforts. Yeah, I am," Simon huffed.

"I thought you were dead! You were behind that curtain, and I thought your body was in the worst shape of all," Merrik protested.

"Oh no. When he saw the bodies of your friends, he passed out. We put him behind the curtain to avoid giving him another shock when he woke up," Vash explained, "That kind of didn't work."

Merrik walked over and gave Simon a hug, holding his face with both his hands, "I'm sorry I left you there… I … I just…"

Simon gave him a sad smile, "It's fine. I understand. None of us was ready for that thing. And you saved me, didn't you? If you didn't make it out and asked for help, I wouldn't be able to escape," the mage got up, but he stopped when he saw Hera and Nimbus over the body of the woman, "What the fuck are you two?"

Hera sighed, having lost her concentration again, "I'm an Ophidianite. A new species in the MAZE, and he…" Hera glanced at the Sentinel, "Honestly. I'm too tired to explain. He is on our side, and he helped me kill the wendigo. That's all you need to know," she rubbed her eyes, "Look. I know I'm going to sound like a bitch right now, but do you mind continuing your talk outside. We need to focus here."

"What are you doing with their bodies, exactly?" Merrik asked.

"We found both of them in the… Nest? Lair? House? Somewhere, the wendigo put them in, and they were inside cocoons. We are now just making sure it was a spider situation. You know, keeping food fresh for later. And not something that will make a baby wendigo burst out of their chest or something," Hera explained.

Simon just stared at her, "I was already going to have nightmares about that monster. I didn't need that idea in my head."

Hera looked up, "Sorry about that. I just really hate those things and don't want to leave anything to chance."

"I understand that," Merrik nodded, "We'll be outside. Sorry for disturbing your work."

"Thank you, and I'm sorry for what you went through," Hera gave them a sympathetic smile. Remembering the time she fought against a wendigo herself. She couldn't help but think that now, the two survivors were at a crossroads. They would either give up their life as explorers or become better at it than they ever were. That was the same decision she had to make a few years ago, although it wasn't a question to her. She wouldn't stop exploring just because a wendigo almost killed her.

The Empress spent another half an hour trying to see if there was anything wrong with the bodies, but she couldn't find anything. By all accounts, their mana was undisturbed, and the viscous fluid that was covering them was something organic, not a magical thing. Vash and Neria were still working, using some of the tools they had in the infirmary, like a mini centrifuge, to perform some tests. This was way beyond the Ophidianite's knowledge, so she just gave them a copy of her report and went to the butchery to help the others. However, help was a strong word. Roan and Skyler had already completely disassembled the rest of the body and were now just trying to identify some organs that didn't match with any creatures they knew about. Roan could be a fighter, but he was well-versed in monster anatomy. Skyler spent years studying that same subject, and Flint could create some tools on demand, including jars that could seal the organs in a vacuum.

Hera joined and tried her best to help, but there wasn't much else she could do. Trying to see if she was missing something, she opened her [Hunter's Catalog] to see if she could compare this version with the ones she fought before. The Empress had killed three other types of wendigos and participated in a rampage where she helped fight against a 4th one, making this the 5th of this kind of monster she had ever fought. Apparently, this meant that she was already above average when talking about the number of wendigos she faced, which wasn't something she was particularly happy about.

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Hunter's Catalogue

Wendigo - Level range: ?????

Cannibal Beast - Devour Affinity

Bonus effects: 23%

A creature capable of growing as it feeds out of other beings. The more it eats, the stronger it can become. Unlike most creatures in a room, the wendigo is not restricted by the level limit of the layer.

Variations:

[Chameleon Panther] [Snapping Frog] [Blood Bear]

[Frost Monkey] [Behemoth Tunneler]

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"Wait… what the fuck?!" Hera gasped while looking at the window.

She barely used her [Hunter's Catalogue]. In the end, after getting that skill, she never spent enough time in an area where hunting a specific monster was required. She didn't even check the wendigo entry, assuming that each of them would be on a different page. Yet, they were all being considered the same type of creature. Even more surprising was the bonus effects. It was way too high for a creature she had only fought a few times. When she got the skill, the Empress kept track, but it took dozens of Sky Ruler Spawn kills inside a dungeon for the bonus effect to increase by 1%. It also didn't seem to matter if she hunted something inside a dungeon or not. Bosses increased a bit faster, but it usually took between 1 and 5 kills to increase by the same 1%. But the wendigos? It was growing at a staggering rate. She killed 3 of them by herself, the Chameleon Panther being the first one she faced. The Blood Bear was the one Silah encountered outside the city of Boothudurn and now the Behemoth Tunneler. The Snapping Frog was a single entity she fought during a Rampage in Brinnefront. The Frost Monkeys were a group she helped destroy during the first Rampage in Boothudurn. Even so, it was around a dozen, maybe twenty at most. Even if she was considering that they had all the same weight for the skill as a boss, there was no reason why the skill would have increased so much.

"What's wrong?" Skyler asked when the Empress gasped.

Hera shook her head, "Are you guys done here? I think it's better if I explain this to everyone at once."

They asked for a few more minutes, but soon, they left the butchery and headed back to the infirmary. In there, Hera explained about her skill, adding that she wasn't aware the increase was that big and that they should all get some of the benefits of her skill since it was something she could share.

"That's really good. Do you think the Alliance knows about this?" Vash asked.

"I really don't know. I mean, I never heard anything about it, but it sounds like too much of a big thing for people not to know about," Hera sighed.

"We should tell them either way," Flint nodded.

"I agree, but that comes with a problem," as Hera replied. Everyone looked at her with confused expressions, "After I tell them, they will likely ask what is the bonus my skill is giving me. And since I'm on the high end of people who fought against wendigos…"

"They will likely put us in wendigo duty," Roan finished the thought.

"Exactly. I want to ask if you are all ok with this, or should I push for not doing that."

"I'm ok with it. Those things are awful, and fighting them sounds like a good way to get stronger," Roan replied quickly.

"I don't like that very much. Hunting a monster that powerful is not my style. Especially if we have to go after them inside tunnels all the time," Vash added.

With that, they started a discussion about the topic. Each of them had varying opinions, and it would take a bit of time for them to come to an agreement. At least this wasn't something urgent, so that they could talk calmly about it. Hera couldn't help but enjoy the situation. When she was traveling with her friends, they would never argue much when deciding something. It was somewhat refreshing to be around people who would have different opinions. Another good thing was that they were done. Their part of the mission was over. They would send their report at the end of the day and get their next task from the Alliance. Hopefully, it wasn't another wendigo hunt, but one way or another, they were doing their part to alleviate the problems brought by the ongoing war.