Hera stayed inside the hollow tree, listening to the toad jumping around near her. She was in the thicker part of the woods, but there were some gaps large enough for the toad to jump into. A couple of times, Hera saw the creature jump over some trees.

  As time went by, the noises became less frequent until finally stopped. Even so, Hera waited some more to be sure the creature wasn't moving around anymore. When she felt it was enough, she used her pulse, hoping she would be able to feel things beyond the surrounding bark.

  The mana spread out from her and hit the wood. A less intense amount kept going, allowing Hera to feel some of the surrounding area. There were a few trees, some bushes, and the giant toad a few meters behind her. As the mana passed through the creature, Hera could feel it moving. The last bit of mana allowed the explorer to sense the toad opening its mouth while facing the tree she was in. She felt the tongue coming out of its mouth, heading straight for her.

  Hera let her body fall deeper into the tree just before the toad's tongue splintered part of the bark, hitting the middle of the tree. Hera held back a gasp. She had to stay quiet so the monster wouldn't see her. The toad struck two more times, aiming at different heights. Luckily, none of the attacks got close to hitting the Explorer.

  The beast jumped once more and hit the top of the hollow tree, breaking parts of it and making the trunk fall down. At the same time Hera activated her bark skin once more, trying to protect herself from the fall.

  Looking through the opening in the tree, Hera saw the massive frame of the toad. The creature was moving slowly, and it seemed to be panting.

  The toad moved to face the now fallen hollow tree and lashed out with its tongue towards the hole in the middle. Hera tried to move down to the second exit, but it was clear it wouldn't be fast enough. Raising both her chakram and her handaxe, she got ready to be hit by the attack.

  The tongue hit the weapons, making the toad recoil, and the impact shoved Hera closer to the exit. Still, it hurt. Her arms were trembling, and the strike made her slam both hands on her face.

  Moving quickly, she reached the other side and got ready to defend against the creature. Thankfully, she was able to heal her foot during the time she was hidden for the most part. It still stung, but the pain was much more manageable.

  The toad, on the other hand, seemed to be in bad shape. It was shivering, and it appeared confused. Still, it was staring at Hera intently.

  The Explorer got ready with another Poison Spray and sent it towards the creature, making it try to dodge to the side, but it wasn't fast enough to move away. Hera missed the eye she targeted, but the spell hit part of the skin on the monster's back.

  The toad jumped towards the Explorer, but it fell atop the now fallen hollow tree, splintering the log. Hera rushed to the side and slashed at the creature. Unfortunately, its skin was much tougher than what she expected. Even so, the toad had the same problem with turning as the frogs. Considering that and the sluggish movement the creature had now, Hera could finally see a way to fight the monster.

  She dashed around it, sending blasts of Poison Spray every time there was an opening, aiming at any exposed wound. After all, the best way to poison someone was to inject it directly into the bloodstream.

  The toad kept moving around, trying to slap this annoying prey that kept hiding and running. It landed more than a few hits. Each strike made Hera feel like someone was hitting Hera with a steel chair. Even so, she kept attacking, feeling she was close to killing the creature on her own.

  This went on for a few minutes. It was by far the longest fight Hera ever had, and her stamina was struggling to keep up. She didn't have enough time to rest, and her foot was still a problem. Still, she felt confident about her odds.

  The toad had vomited once more, allowing Hera to hit a Poison Spray directly in its eye. She had given up cutting the creature's skin. It was too tough, and it left her too open for a counter-attack.

  After gulping down the last of the mana potions, preparing another shot of Poison Spray the toad finally fell to the ground and stopped moving. Hera quickly activated her [Observe] from a safe distance to be sure it wasn't just faking it.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Goliath Cane Toad (Corpse)

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Feeling more confident about the situation, Hera took a step closer and triggered [Inspect].

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Goliath Cane Toad (Corpse)

  A nocturnal toad that roams the woods of Brinefront. It is a carnivorous species commonly know to devour other frogs whole.

  Its skin is very resistant to slashes and cuts. It can lash out its tongue as a projectile over great distances. They become stronger and more powerful as they turn into the goliath variation. The toad passes through a secondary hatching process where its muscles are remade. Goliath Toads grow up to five meters tall.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  "Five meters?!" Hera exclaimed, looking at the toad.

  She already had a lot of trouble dealing with the meter and a half version of it. If there were even bigger creatures like that one, fighting one was suicide in her current condition.

  Hera looked once again at the monster. It was a waste to leave the carcass there. If she managed to bring it to the guild, she would probably make some good money.

  Looking at the map on her tablet, Hera could see that she wasn't that far from the city. She could even connect to the internet. Unfortunately, her escape wasn't completely successful as there were a few messages from Blue, asking where she was.

  Hera replied, telling her friend she was in the forest and she needed her help. She sent a similar text to Leo, since the two were the strongest ones among the group and the Hunter had also sent her a text. While waiting, Hera tried to push the toad towards the road. It was a complicated thing to do, especially since she was surrounded by trees.

  About fifteen minutes later, Hera had moved the corpse only a few meters when she heard a familiar voice.

  "Hera! Where are you?"

  Recognizing her friend's voice, Hera called to her, "I'm over here, Blue. And don't shout."

  Hera used the light spell to give away her location, even if that could be a bit dangerous. If another toad showed up, she wouldn't be alone this time.

  "Found her!" Leo had just peeked through a tree behind Hera, "What are you doi.... WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"

  "Stop yelling. There are a lot of frogs in the woods. And this is a thing that tried to kill me. I need some help to take it to the guild," Hera was trying to push the creature between two large trunks. That was the only path she could find to take the monster out of the dense woods.

  "A toad?" Leo approached the corpse, "Holy shit, Hera, are you crazy?"

  "No, I'm not. I was working on leveling up. It's more effective if you hunt alone."

  "Hera, I'm here! Are you ok?" Blue rushed towards Leo, followed by Bonnie and Alex.

  "Yeah, I'm fine. I just need help to haul this back to the guild."

  "What is that?" Blue pointed at the monster.

  "A monster that tried to eat me, but I killed it first. The one it ate got closer to having me as a meal than this one," Hera said, puffing up her chest a bit, still trying to make the toad pass through the gap between the trees.

  "And why in the fuck are you alone here in the middle of the night?" Blue yelled.

  Hera frowned and stopped pushing the creature, "Because I need to level up faster. That way, I can make more money."

  Alex, who was looking away from the creature, turned to the side, "Oh, man. Are you gonna tell us you have debt too? Honestly, this is getting ridiculous."

  Bonnie stared at the assassin but said nothing about her remark.

  "No, I don't, but high-level explorers are expensive, especially after those things that showed up. Are you going to help or not?"

  "Why do you need high-level explorers?" Leo was still staring at the creature.

  "Oh, Hera. Is this still about Helena?" Blue approached the explorer.

  "Of course, it is!" Hera snapped, "The rescue team arrived in the Queeroni Wilds today. Helena's been there for days, hiding and scared. If I had money, I could send people there. Or if by some miracle I can get high level enough to go, I'll find her myself," Hera turned to the toad and started pushing it through the gap, "And right now. I need your help."

  As she finished speaking, the toad finally went through the trees, making Hera fall to the ground.

  "Oh, this better give some good money," Hera mumbled while walking towards her trophy.

  Leo looked at Blue, who just nodded and approached the explorer, "Hera, you need to calm down. I get that you really like Helena, but you can't end up dying because you can't help her."

  "No, you don't get it!" Hera barked at Blue. She turned around and kept shoving the toad forward, "I don't just like her. She saved my life. And I'm not trying to pay her back. I'm being greedy. Possessive and selfish. She is one of the few people who were kind to me in this damn world. One of the few who didn't want anything in return. She saw me for who I am and not what the System says I am. I'm not losing someone like that. I don't give a crap what it takes."

  The explorer kept shoving the frog, managing to cover a considerable distance. Tears started to form in the corner of her eyes, but not tears of sadness. Those were tears of anger and frustration.

  She hated that she couldn't do anything to help Helena.

  She hated that she took so long to become an explorer.

  She hated that all that someone needed to do to make her that dependent on the person was to be kind to her.

  And, above all, she hated that she was willing to risk herself so much for just that much.

  "Hera, we are all here for you. Even if she dies there, we are still around. Or do you think we don't treat you well?" Blue said, getting closer to Hera.

  The notion of her friends not being kind to her made Hera forget her burst of anger. Had she never told them how much they mean to her?

  "What? No, of course, you do. You guys are the best friends I ever had. But you only knew me as a recruit. She found me before all that. When my hair was greasy and messy, and I was crying in the rain."

  "So just because she knew you first, she gets special treatment?" Leo stepped closer to the toad.

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  "Can you two stop putting words in my mouth and help? I never complained about how you guys treat me or said that I wouldn't be like this if it were one of you."

  "Well, would you?! Be this crazed if it was one of us lost in a different layer?!" Bonnie stomped towards Hera, getting close enough to smell the dried up vomit on the explorer.

  The explorer stopped for a moment, "No, I probably wouldn't be this crazed. Since there is no reason for one of you to go somewhere I couldn't go, I would be searching for you day in day out. It probably would be worse because I could do something more tangible than just try to get stronger."

  The group stared at Hera. Yes, she was acting crazy, but her eyes steady. Whatever she had chosen to do, it wasn't a spur of the moment decision. This was the path she wanted to tread.

  Bonnie put one hand on her head and grabbed some of her hair, "You are infuriating, you know that? I'm supposed to be dealing with my own shit right now."

  Bonnie walked in front of the toad, looking over the carcass.

  "You three, what is your strength at?" the researcher asked.

  "Who are you asking?" Leo looked at the rest of the group.

  "You, Blue, and the mad dog that brought us here. I'm not gonna tell Alex to carry this thing."

  "Oh, right. I'm at 14," the Hunter replied.

  "18 for me," Blue raised her hand.

  "Mine is 16," Hera said.

  "Ok, so you two raise the body and Blue, you go under it. Then let the thing rest on your back, and the other two can help carry it. Alex, can you be in front guiding us?"

  The assassin nodded, already moving ahead. Bonnie turned to the rest of the group, "Well? Chop chop, it's getting late. I mean, early and I want to eat before starting my day."

  "Oh, sorry," Hera moved towards the toad, and following Bonnie's directions, the group started to walk back towards the city.

  They made the first half of the trip in silence. Only Bonnie and Alex spoke, giving the group directions on how to proceed. However, after reaching the road, Leo asked about the fight and how it was to hunt on her own. Hera told them all about her hunt, the frog that almost ate her, and how the poison spell she had made the fight easier. After about forty minutes, they reached the guild.

  The clerk working at the guild wasn't as surprised as Hera expected. Apparently, the toad was unusual, but not exactly a rare sight. While the group waited for the clerk to confirm the value of the body they had brought, Hera remembered the texts she got from Blue.

  "Oh, right. You texted me that you wanted to share some news with me. What was it?" Hera said to the group, who were standing a few meters away to avoid her smell.

  "Yeah, Leo got a text. Mark is coming tomorrow," Blue replied just before the remains of the frog that the toad ate came out of the corpse's stomach, making even the clerk feel nauseous.

  Later that day, at a more respectable time than four in the morning, the group gathered again. They wanted to give Mark a warm welcome. Hera also needed to stop by the dry cleaners to get her armor.

  She had found a place that was open 24h, and they had experience removing the smell of frog vomit from equipment. It was expensive, but the amount she got from the toad the day before was more than enough to cover it, even after giving some to the rest of the group for helping her carry it.

  In total, she had made 237 gold with the toad. Almost everything was because of its skin. She could easily make over 500 gold if she hadn't used poison to kill the creature. That made its meat unusable for cooking. The frog that was inside it was completely wasted. Not only it was partially digested, the bits that could be salvaged were also filled with poison.

  Hera had to remember that she would need to hold back the poison spells if she wanted to make money.

  The group met up and headed towards the dry cleaners, Hera was wearing jeans and a t-shirt that she got the day before when Blue refused to let her get inside their room with the smelly armor. To Hera's luck, she wasn't the only one in similar attire. A couple of people seemed to have encountered the same type of issue and were waiting to get their gear from the cleaners.

  Hera picked up her equipment and used one of the changing rooms in the store to put it on.

  Once that was done, the group left and headed towards the doorway. Mark would arrive soon, and they wanted to be there. Even with the good news, there was still some tension in the air. Blue was angry at Hera for being so reckless. Bonnie was still trying to piece her family together, and Alex was annoyed at Leo for bringing his pet frog to the meeting.

  Not wanting to cause any more problems, Hera just kept looking through the various threads about what was going on in the Queeroni Wilds. The people were safe inside the cities as the creatures only roamed the actual jungle.

  They had been identified as Wendigos, but the actual level was still open to discussion. Some would say they were level 80, while others that they could reach 85. There was also some discussion about the actual abilities of the creatures. Most of them behaved like crazed animals and were not too much of a problem if found in small groups. Yet, some people claimed that the creatures had various skills, from shooting thorns out of their bodies to breathing fire or camouflaging themselves. All the while keeping their name.

  "Hera," the Explorer raised her head from the tablet to find Blue staring at her.

  "What's up?" Hera smiled, trying not to anger her friend even more.

  "Any news about Helena?"

  "I only checked when we left the inn. They found the camp during the night, or at least night for us. Now they are following some tracks of people who managed to run from there."

  Blue let out a sigh, "Look. I know you are worried. But can you please don't do anything crazy like that again? If you want to hunt alone, it's fine, but do it during the day. And let us be hunting nearby, just in case."

  "Well... I can't promise I won't do anything crazy. But I'll be careful, and I'll stick to fighting during the day for now. As fun as it was, I'm not sure I can take another toad like that," Hera didn't want to lie. She had no idea if something else would happen and make her go crazy.

  "Did you really think that was fun?" Blue asked, raising one eyebrow.

  Hera nodded, "Yeah. I mean, I almost died, but the feeling that I could beat a monster like that during a fight is amazing. I felt strong, and being able to forget about everything else was... liberating in a way."

  Blue kept staring at Hera for a few moments, "Hey, Alex!" The assassin looked at her, "Hera is one of us now."

  "What do you mean?" Alex asked, getting closer.

  "I mean she is a battle maniac like us. Even after almost dying last night, she still says it was fun."

  Alex laughed, "Good for you, Hera! Hunting is going to be an entirely different thing now."

  The three kept talking about how much they enjoyed fighting, getting some eye rolls from Bonnie until Mark came through the doorway, followed by Tiffany and a few others.

  "Mark!" Leo shouted and rushed towards him.

  "Wow, calm down, dude. I honestly wasn't expecting this welcome," he said raising his hand and clasping it with Leo's

  "You have no idea how much I wanted you here. I couldn't stand being the only man in the group anymore."

  Mark rolled his eyes, "Yeah, fighting together with four beautiful women must have been awful."

  The rest of the group joined in, and Mark introduced the people he did the test with. He already had gotten his role a couple of days ago, but they all promised to go inside the MAZE together. Some of them already formed a group, and Mark had a standing invitation to join, but he wanted to talk to his previous teammates first.

  When the party was about to leave, Tiffany approached Hera and her friends and apologized for what happened during their test. Before the group could reply, Kenji appeared, and Tiffany dashed to his arms, giving the man a big hug followed by a kiss.

  Hera noticed that a few members of the group that came with Mark seemed upset with the sight.

  "Did any of you know about them?" Blue asked.

  "Yeah, she told me, they started going out just before the test," Mark said.

  "Well. I honestly didn't consider that. But what about you?" Alex asked.

  "The position of my girlfriend is still open. Interested?" Mark said, raising his eyebrows repeatedly like a cheesy character in a movie.

  "Not what I'm talking about. Are you ok? Don't you want to go with them?"

  Mark shook his head, "Nah, they are fun and all. But there was no teamwork during the test. If there were an Anaya in the mix, we would all have failed. I'd rather be with someone I trust to have my back."

  Leo nodded, "Welcome to the team, then."

  "What do you mean, welcome? He was always a part of it," Blue said, slapping Mark's back.

  "Ouch. That was stronger than usual. And why did that make my hair stand up?" The crafter complained.

  "Oh, my bad. I'm practicing a buff. It is just some static electricity, nothing harmful,"

  "Wait, is that a skill?"

  "Nope. Magic," Blue made a motion with her hand, moving her fingers quickly.

  "Do you all have magic already?" Mark asked.

  The group nodded. Every one of them had learned a spell.

  "Ah, less than a month, and I'm already this far behind?"

  "Should we tell him we leveled up too?" Alex asked with a playful smile.

  "Awww, maaann!" Mark groaned.

  "I guess you just did," Hera chuckled.

  The group left the doorway and headed toward the guild. Mark had to do the welcome quest and get set up in a room. Leo was using a single bed one, so they wouldn't share a place. After giving the crafter a tour, the group picked a place to eat since the walking around took most of the morning.

  As they waited for their food, Hera picked up her tablet to check if there was any news about Helena. The last update was still the same, but she saw a new thread talking about the guild's latest announcement. Checking it, she was redirected to the main guild website, where there was an article and a video from the chairwoman herself.

  "Hey, look at this," the group gathered to watch the small video. As Hera pressed play, Leliana Mihafrey appeared on-screen sitting on a desk with the Queeroni Wilds in the window behind her.

  "Hello everyone. As you know, a few days ago, we broke through the wall on the 25th layer. That triggered an event that caused the deaths of several explorers. Monsters called Wendigos appeared after the wall came down and attacked every living creature in sight. We can confirm that these creatures are at least level 80. We can also confirm that these same creatures are appearing in all rooms in the 25th layer. However, we do not believe them to be able to cross through doorways."

  As Leliana spoke, several graphs and pictures of the monsters appeared at her side. They had found three more variations to the Wendigos aside from the wolf, the monkey, and the rat. One was large and muscular, looking almost like a hairless bear. The other was smaller, and aside from the discolored skin, red eyes and bones coming out of its joints was clearly a sphinx cat. The last was a bat like beast with very long claws and tusks bigger than its head.

  "We also have identified a few abilities that the monsters posses. Number one, they multiply quickly. Some nests were found, and in a matter of days, the fully grown creatures hatched. Number two, they can absorb the attributes of whatever they eat. The video from the broadcast gave us a small glimpse of it. However, they are not limited to a single absorption. Teams that are fighting the Wendigos must only fight them if they are confident of their success. With each loss we have, the more the monsters will grow."

  The graphics showed other variations, Wendigos using light, fire, ice. Some had wings, others had long, spindly members. One even had grown a second head. The graphics vanished as Leliana finished speaking.

  "Lastly, we have managed to find a few of our members who were at the campsite. Becca Swan and her team were rescued and are now recovering from their ordeal. We still have many people missing, and we won't stop searching for them while we still have hope they are alive. This happened because of my failure to predict this possible outcome, and for that, I apologize. When this crisis is over, I will be submitting my letter of resignation as chairwoman of the guild. Until then, I hope I can still count on your support. Don't forget. We fight together, we win together, and we survive together."

  The video ended with Leliana leaving the office, but the camera stayed in place. Then, the guild's logo appeared atop of the chair she was sitting.

  "Is she really stepping down? I mean, no one could predict that?" Alex was still staring at the screen.

  "Maybe she feels guilty," Bonnie suggested.

  "I don't know. When we come inside the MAZE, we are already accepting that we can get hurt and even die here. I don't think it's just for that," Blue said.

  "My guess is some political pressure from the rest of the board. My uncle told me a few stories about how that happened inside the coalition more than a few times," Leo was already eating again.

  "Or maybe she just got tired of sitting behind a desk. Did you see those guns? I bet she is itching to go after those things," Mark said, biting down on his frog hamburger.

  "Really?" Blue rewound the video. When Leliana got up, they could see her arms. She had massive biceps, not as big as Frostbite's , but much more defined. It was almost as if they were looking at a granite sculpture.

  "Daaaammmm," Alex gasped.

  "Tell me about it. I wanna look like that one day," Blue said.

  "Keep pumping your strength, and you'll get there," Hera said, going back to her plate.

  The group finished eating and headed towards the shop district. Mark had to introduce himself to someone from a workshop. He had been recruited by Jasper to the Forgeshifters, and part of his work would be done here.

  With everything done, the group left to hunt. They wanted to test the new dynamic with everyone being able to use spells, Leo's new pet, and now Mark in the mix.

  Before leaving the city, they discussed strategies. Blue had her electricity buff, but no one had something that could boost its effect. Alex had learned a wind enchantment for her weapons. It would make her attacks cut even deeper, and Hera could follow up, hitting the Poison Spray on the open wounds. That would only be a last resort since they still wanted to butcher the frogs to make some money. Bonnie had tweaked her cold bomb and now could make an area slowly drop the temperature over time. Since they were dealing with cold-blooded creatures, this could be a fantastic tool to kill them without even fighting.

  Leo had an odd spell. It didn't affect his actual ability at first, but if he managed to pierce his target, he could make thorns shoot out of it or make the victim be wrapped in vines. Apparently, those were two different spells, but with the same condition. Tiger, the dog-sized rain frog, also had a new skill. He could squeak to disorient a monster. It wasn't a strong effect, but much like Blue's buff, it could give the group some priceless seconds to avoid an attack.

  Mark would be near Bonnie, sending arrows at the creatures while the rest of the group kited them around. The man was a bit nervous about the possibility of hitting his teammates, but they promised to give him some time to practice.

  Just before leaving the city, Hera checked the thread one last time. Someone had updated the fixed post. The rescue team had found Helena and Samera, the assassin. The team would grab the two and head back to the doorway city before searching for Korey, the crafter.

  However, the The_Ancient_Gran_Mage added a note that they had lost contact with the group soon after their last message. He also made sure to clarify that wasn't bad. It only meant they encountered some trouble and couldn't afford to risk being noticed. That had happened just a few minutes ago.

  Hera's eyes started to water. Helena was alive, and someone had found her. She still wasn't out of danger, but at least the odds seemed much better now. Knowing that if she waited for the next update, she would go mad, Hera rubbed her eyes to clean the forming tears and moved to the woods with her group. Right now, she needed a way to distract herself. To be lost in the moment and forget about the rest. She needed a good fight.

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