MAZE - The endless Quest

Hera walked down the path towards the woods once more. She had noticed this the night before, but the chameleon's corpse was no longer there. Yet, she didn't see any trail of blood, but she wasn't sure she would be able to see one. It would be much harder to see the red stains in purple grass.

Before stepping into the woods, Hera took a deep breath. She knew that this place had the chameleons, and the panther was probably still lurking around. Her main issue was that she wasn't in perfect condition at the moment. Her arm was wounded, and the tackle from the Carbuncle created a sizeable purple bruise covering half her torso that made some movements hurt. Even constantly using her Mending spell, the recovery very slow. Yet, she didn't have a choice. She had to go back somehow. Making sure to be ready, she walked into the forest.

The first part of her journey wasn't as troublesome as she expected. No monster was around, and the path wasn't difficult to traverse. She only needed to be careful with some random roots growing in odd angles. As the hours went by, Hera was feeling restless. She had to be constantly looking at her map to be sure she was making progress. Walking around confused her a lot. The trees started to look too similar to each other. She also had to keep looking for monsters constantly.

At one point, the forest became thicker than a jungle, slowing her travel speed. Since it was so dark in the area, Hera had to use her flashlight to move, which gave away her position. It didn't take long for her to start hearing monsters coming her way. Using her Pulse, she managed to spot one chameleon approach. Not wanting to give it a chance to attack, Hera rushed towards sending a poison needle as a greeting. The monster wasn't as quick as the frogs, and as long as she struck it before it was able to camouflage itself, it didn't pose much of a threat. Chameleons tended to use the stealth approach, but they would resort to headbutts when confronted directly, and those attacks were very easy to avoid.

It took only a couple of strikes to kill the monster. After that, Hera kept going, hoping that the creature's corpse would be enough of a distraction for the incoming beasts. She kept going for another hour, fighting a few chameleons on the way. Hera made sure not to use her poison spells on the last one. She was getting hungry, and eating meat was much better than stuffing herself with protein bars.

She was distracted with her meal when a growl came from the left. She jumped up, staring at the direction of the noise. Between the tres, there was a large creature staring at her. The beast had a bulky muscular body with a smaller head and deep purple skin.

"You again?" Hera stared at it, grabbing her handaxe once more.

The panther growled at Hera and started walking towards her. She got ready to block it, waving the flaming brach towards it. The monster didn't seem to mind the fire and kept walking towards the explorer. Hera got ready for the attack. The panther started to circle around the explorer. It spent a few minutes moving and headed back to the woods, without breaking eye contact.

Hera waited a moment, using her Pulse repeatedly to find where the monster was, but to no avail. After a few minutes, she wasn't able to see the beast anymore. Unsure of what was going on, Hera decided to keep going. Moving through the woods once more, she had to be even more careful. She had no idea when the creature could appear again.

A few hours later Hera reached an open area, with one large tree in the middle of it. She walked towards it as one tongue flew towards her head. She leaned back, falling to the ground. The tongue flew above her head, almost hitting her face. Hera jumped up and ran towards the tree since there was where the attack came from. Getting close to the trunk, Hera noticed a large creature in the middle of it. It was a Chameleon different from the others. A pair of large horns changed colors with the rest of the body in its head.

Hera slashed across the monster's neck, but it raised its head, blocking the handaxe with its horns. She jumped to the side and used her chakram to attack, but the chameleon opened its mouth and lashed out with its tongue again. The attack hit her side, pulling her towards the monster. Hera slashed the creature's side and tried to pull away from the beast. While they struggled, Hera heard a growl coming from the forest. Looking to the side, she saw the panther heading towards her.

"Shit, shit, shit," Hera tried to pull the chameleon to the side, trying to make the panther get in her sight. She threw a poison needle at each of the monsters, hoping it would help her fight. The panther moved quickly through the area, trying to move behind Hera. The explorer kept moving around the tree, trying to maintain the panther in her sight. The chameleon wasn't very fond of the situation. It pulled its tongue, trying to stop Hera from moving away.

Tha panther lunged at Hera, trying to claw her back. She managed to dodge part of the attack, but the strike still cut her left leg. The chameleon took that chance to pierce Hera's arm while she was distracted by the panther. The fight barely had started, and Hera was already at a massive disadvantage. The first problem was the chameleon's tongue was still stuck on her, which hindered her movement. Hera pulled the tongue back and slashed it repeatedly until she was able to cut it. At the same time, the panther tried to hit her once more, but the chameleon got in the way with a headbutt directed at Hera.

The explorer took a few steps back, staying in a triangle with the two monsters. The panther seemed more interested in Hera. The chameleon, on the other hand, seemed to be torn. It kept staring at the explorer, but it was angry with the panther for attempting to steal its prey. The area was large enough for Hera to use her chakram as a medium-range weapon, and the Wire Trap style had some attacks made to deal with groups of enemies. She had yet to try it out, but now seemed like she had her chance.

The panther got closer to the ground and was about to jump when the chameleon sent the remains of its tongue towards it. The panther jumped to the side, avoiding the attack, and growled at the monsters, who hissed back. While the two kept staring at each other, Hera saw a change for her to flee. She took a step back, but the panther lunged towards her. Seeing that, the chameleon struck the purple-skinned beast with its horns, changing its course.

Hera jumped back, avoiding the panther, and saw as it turned around to attack the chameleon. With the two starting their brawl, she activated her [Hide] and ran away. She didn't forget that the panther showed up as a question mark with her [Observe], and she wasn't too keen on figuring out why. She focused on her ears to be sure that the monster wasn't about to chase her. Luckily, the only thing she heard was the sounds of the fight between the two creatures.

She kept running for close to half an hour. She didn't want to stop even long after she stopped hearing them fight, but if she wears herself out while the panther was on her heels, it would be much worse. Hera stopped running, but she didn't stop moving. It was already getting late, and according to what she had seen on the map, a few kilometers in front of her, there was a large open area that she could use to set up camp.

The area wasn't directly ahead. She needed to diverge from the path she was taking. She also made sure to clean possible tracks and roll around in the mud. Hera hoped that along with her [Hide], this would be enough to lose anyone who could be tracking her. Arriving at the large clearing, Hera quickly set up the bonfire and the perimeter stakes. She had lost her bed, but she could still use the remains of the air mattress as a pillow.

Hera took a look at her supplies. She was still fine with food, but water would be a problem soon. She only had one more full bottle. The other three were empty. She would need to take a trip to the waters the next day. Looking at the map, she noticed a light blue mark that spread through a few kilometers ahead of her. According to Helena, that area was a place with a small submerged platform, much like the one Hera used when she found the sailor's cove. It would destroy any boat that got close, but she could move while being by the water if she walked there. That was one option. The second one was going to a lake about twenty kilometers west. Unsure of what to do, Hera picked another power bar for her dinner while going back to practice the mana reinforcement.

"When I get back to the city, I want a burger. And a stake, and some chicken, and cake, I can't forget the ice cream. Anything juicy and seasoned," as much as Hera wanted to focus on the spell, her stomach wasn't allowing her to do so. She wasn't hungry. It was more the desire to eat something different from the protein bars.

After a couple of hours of practice and reading, Hera went to sleep. However, her rest was abruptly interrupted by a loud high-pitched noise. Hera jumped up and looked around. Before she was able to identify what invaded the camp, she heard a growl coming to the side towards her. Hera swung her handaxe in a large arch, trying to hit the monster. The panther ducked under the blade and jumped towards the explorer. The delay gave enough time for Hera to step away and avoid the monster's initial attack. She went towards the green fire, hoping it would have the same effect on the beast as it had on the Carbuncle.

With the light of the flames, Hera was able to see the panther more clearly. Its massive body had a few cuts on the side, and two small protrusions seemed to be growing from its forehead. The monster growled once more and dashed towards Hera. She waited for it to get close enough and jumped to the side, swinging her chakram to the side, creating a cut on the monster's side. The beast snarled at Hera and ran to the side, leaving the camp and going back to the woods.

Hera stood there, with the noise ringing in her ears, staring at the place where the beast ran off to for a few minutes before believing the panther wouldn't come back. She looked back at the stakes, "Now I have to wait for them to recharge," she sighed, " Thanks for ruining my sleep," Hera said while staring at the place the panther had run off to.