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Chapter 393 - Sea of Nectar
🕑 Added 2022-02-02 13:00:06 +0000 UTCEntering the Antlion Minefield, the group found themselves in another airlock. This led to an orbital elevator that brought the group down to the moon. To make this small dungeon even better, the panoramic elevator gave a view of the entire area as they got closer to the ground. Looking over the moon was surreal, to say the least. Sure, Hera and the others knew about astronauts and the many things one could find in space, but being in a place like this was completely different.
Looking over that vast expanse of black, white, and gray with thousands and thousands of stars in the sky made them all feel a sense of wonder. After a couple of minutes while still on the elevator going down, Alex pointed up towards the station, which was another incredible thing by itself, even if it was a bit funny looking. It was almost like staring at a giant bagel, where the small hole was just this elevator shaft. However, the real treat was behind it. Looming over the man-made(?) structure, the Earth was in full view. One could see even the clouds moving above Europe and Asia.
However, it didn't take long for Hera to realize there was something wrong with the light. The Earth was illuminated and in full view, but the sun was to the right, facing the moon. For Earth to look like that, the sun should be behind the moon.
"I wonder if that is like a real image or just an illusion," Amanda said while looking at Earth.
"I think it's real. Look, you can even see the clouds moving," Tim pointed to a cluster of rotating clouds, "Wasn't there a storm raging across the UK?"
"Yeah, but I don't know if we are looking at the real Earth. I mean, how is it so bright?" Hera asked.
"Well, it's reflecting the sunlight. Right?" Cris turned to Hera.
"Where is the sun?"
"Right…. Oh, I get it," Cris pointed at the sun and understood what she meant.
"Do you guys think that there are doorways on the moon or on other planets? Maybe even in outer space?" Alex asked.
"I think so. I mean, there is no reason not to," Amanda replied.
"I'm not so sure about that. Isn't it a MAZE rule that a doorway will never put you in a place where you could die just by walking in? Like, there are no doorways inside lava or deep underwater where there is too much pressure," Hera Was staring at the sky, trying to find the red star that was Mars.
"That is a very good point. But what if we terraformed Mars? Could a doorway appear there?" Tim was looking at the Earth.
"I have no idea. Did a doorway ever appear on Earth? Or were they like, always there?" Amanda's question made everyone turn to Hera.
"What are you looking at me for? I have no clue. In theory, no doorway ever appeared on Earth, but there is no way to tell if that's true. I mean, if we find a doorway in a cave, or an island, or a mountain, can we say that it's a new doorway that appeared, or was it always there?" Hera shrugged.
"Aw, I hoped you had a better reply. I mean, you are the explorer here," Alex teased.
Hera just rolled her eyes, but an idea popped into her mind. She could try calling the guide for this room to get those answers. During the trip, she didn't have time to be alone and contact a guide, but since they would be here for at least one more day, it was an option now. The only thing she would need to do was have a moment alone. Which shouldn't be that difficult since she had the soundproofing spell. She could do the same thing she did back in Brinnefront when she called Berthellemy, just go to the bathroom, turn on the water and use the spell to talk to the guide.
"Hey, I think we are getting close," Amanda looked towards the moon. The elevator was already close enough that they could see the details on the ground, and they were slowing down. Yet, there was one more odd thing about being on the moon. When one would look at the horizon, one would see the line between the moon and the sky curve, ever so gently.
"Ha! Take that flat earthers!" Tim celebrated.
His random yell made Hera laugh, "Yeah. Kind of hard to say that we are not in a sphere with that, but I'm sure they will find a way."
"True, I can already hear them saying that this is the MAZE and not the earth, or that this only means the moon is round and the earth is still flat," Cris nodded.
"What are you talking about? Of course, the Earth is flat," Alex rolled her eyes.
Everyone stopped and stared at her, worried that they had both offended her and that she actually believed in what she was saying.
"Are you serious?" Hera finally asked as the elevator arrived at the bottom floor.
"Of course… not," Alex started laughing, "You should see your faces. I know the Earth is round. C'mon, Hera. You should know me better."
"I mean, we never talked about this," Hera scratched her head.
"It was funny though, I have to admit," Cris was also laughing at the joke.
The elevator doors were open, and another airlock was on the other side. After they passed through that airlock, everyone felt that their steps were lighter, meaning they were already under moon gravity. Moving through, there was a small corridor before the five steps that would lead them outside. Passing through this area proved to be more of a challenge than anyone expected. Walking turned into something that requires concentration and careful consideration. Each step required much less strength than what they were used to, and if they overdid it, they would end up slamming head first on the ceiling. Since they would have to worry about monsters outside, and even worse, worry about traps made by such creatures, they decided to get used to this way of moving before progressing forward.
It took them half an hour of jumping around, walking, and trying different things for everyone to feel comfortable exiting the base. As soon as they crossed the door, a notification popped up.
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Dungeon Quest
Danger Beneath the Moon
The moon is a dangerous place. Monsters take advantage of the environment to create traps to lure and kill unsuspecting travelers. Clear all the monster traps in the path leading to the launch pad so people can travel off-planet again.
First time completion rewards
90 000 gold
Moon Rock box
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"Moon Rock box?" Hera asked.
"Yeah, it's part of a set of equipment that we can drop here. It's called the Moon Rock set, and the full set would allow us to be affected by moon gravity anywhere, but it's like a full astronaut suit, so it's a bit clunky," Cris pulled up a picture of someone using the full set. Like she said, it was just a spacesuit, without the extra options that would allow one to go to the bathroom and such. The set would have things like cold resistance and a way to produce oxygen inside it using some crystals, making the suit less baggy than the one used by astronauts. However, it was still way too big for someone who would travel in the MAZE, not to mention that to get the whole suit, one would need to gather all 11 parts, shoes, pants, chest piece, sleeves, gloves, helmet, backpack, and a belt. Only then the effect of the full set would be triggered. It was too much work to get something like that, and it might not even be that helpful in other places. Sure, you could jump high in that gravity, but you also would take a long time to reach the ground, and that could make you an easy target. Unless there was something that allowed them to turn the effects on and off.
"How much do they go for?" Alex asked, having the same issues with the equipment as Hera did.
"Around 30 to 40 thousand a piece or 500 thousand for the full set," Cris replied.
"OK, so this dungeon is worth 120 thousand. I like it," Alex opened a big smile. This trip helped a lot with the funds for her new house. In fact, she already had enough for a small house in the countryside, but since she had the option, she wanted to get an even better place for her folks.
"Yeah, but it doesn't look like it will be that easy. Look there," Amanda pointed at the path marked by some tall posts with red ribbons tying them together. On the ground, there were some 10 meter wide craters that didn't look that solid but as if they were made out of sand.
"OK… that doesn't seem good. How are we going to kill those?" Cris asked.
"I have an idea. Let me try it," Hera walked closer to the first of the moon sand traps and tossed four caltrops while triggering her [Weapon Break] skill. Out of the four trap weapons, only one managed to hit a target, but thanks to the skill, the metal spikes exploded and injured the monster hiding under the trap. The sands started to quake and shift, leveling the entire crater almost in line with the rest of the path.
Hera backed up, unsure of what was going on. It was a good idea because, after four steps, a massive 4 meters long and 2-meter tall bug came out of the pit, bursting through the soil. The creature had four large fangs that moved individually and twelve smaller limbs to move its massive bulbous body. Its eyes were completely white, connected to a small head that led to an oversized torso that looked more like the undercarriage of a boat.
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Moontlion - Level 16 - Bleeding (Sand Affinity)
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After noticing the bleeding tag, Hera took a better look at the monster. Most of its face was covered in cuts, and some shards of metal seemed to be stuck in the base of its jaws, causing it to bleed even more with each movement of its mandibles. The bug slammed its pincers twice before jumping high in the air. Hera and the others jumped away as soon as they understood that this was supposed to be an attack and saw the monster slamming on the ground, creating a large cloud of dust and sand.
"Oh shit, the MAZE even got this right," Tim gasped excitedly.
"What?" Cris asked.
"There is no sound! Like, for some reason, we can hear each other, but the monsters don't make a sound. There is no air in space, so there is no way for sound to travel," Tim grabbed some of the dust with his magic and sent it back at the monster, slamming against his lower limbs.
"Oh, you're right. This is really cool," Alex used her scabbard, and a jade blade of solid wind flew at the monster, creating a gash that almost cut it in half.
"It's also a big problem for us. We won't hear them getting closer," Hera threw some poison needles at the monster after calling Daskka. She kept the snake in the necklace while in this room since there were too many people around, and she wasn't in the mood to explain why she had a snake construct around her neck.
Amanda moved her hands together, and a stream of snow came out, covering the entire face of the creature. Cris jumped in right after, spinning her weapon to have the electrified blades on the side. She slashed at the creature's face, breaking one of the mandibles off. Daskka flew towards the monster, creating a mist blade with her tail, and slashed at the Moontlion head, cutting it off in a single motion.
That felt a bit odd, and the group rushed to the body to understand what was going on. Before it dissolved, Cris noticed that the corpse seemed weaker around the area where the snow hit. Maybe these creatures were so used to living without water that they would become softer and easier to kill when they were exposed to moisture. With that new knowledge, everyone looked towards the rest of the traps. If they weren't wrong, this dungeon could be much easier than they expected.
##### Author's Note ####
In case you are curious about the chapter name, it's the area where this dungeon take place. The moon is split into several 'seas.' Sea of nectar is on the east side of the moon, one of the small darker patches of land.
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