Hera started her trip trying to talk with the sailors, but they were already busy shortly after leaving the docks. With little else to do, she looked for a quiet spot and kept trying to figure out the Mana Reinforcement. She used the chakram as a test subject since it had a higher affinity to mana before the enchantment. Thinking that it could help her understand the spell better.

She placed both her hands in the weapon, trying to make her mana cycle not only through her body but to the blade as well. Feeling the spirit mana in the chakram, little by little, she pushed her mana into it. The problem now was making the mana stay there. After she stopped cycling her mana, what was left in her weapon just dispersed. According to Helena, to use the spell, the magic had to stay inside the chakram. Hera picked her tablet and looked at the digital version of her spellbook that she had made.

--------------------

Mana Reinforcement

This spell can strengthen the item in which it is applied. It works by imbuing the object with mana and using it to increase the desired propriety.

The item can gain an attack or resistance to the desired element by coating it in different mana types. The quantity and quality(?) of the mana will affect the power of the effect.

The mana in the item is more solid than usual, forming a crystal-like structure around it. When another element is added, the design remains the same, but it changes both color and edges.

With dark mana, the crystal becomes cloudy, and its shine disappears. Some thin black strings appear from the edges and change depending on the target of the reinforcement.

For defense/durability, they form small springs around the object.

For attack/sharpness, they form either omnidirectional spikes, or they all gather in a single point, forming a large needle.

For Agility/speed,

For Sound/Stealth,

For

For

For

--------------------

Since there a lot she wasn't sure about, Hera had created a pattern that she could fill out as she discovered more information. Helena gave her a couple of examples but left the others out so Hera could practice figuring out how spells worked. If it took too long or she became stuck, Helena would help her some more. That was the only way Helena knew how to help someone who took the subjective route.

Hera agreed that it was good not to rely only on help to figure out things. But at the moment, the problem was how to make the mana inside the chakram turn to that diamond shape pattern.

Letting out a long sigh, Hera looked away. It was tiring, staring at the same thing for long periods. Her mana was being spent even while she cycled it, since it was all vanishing in the blade. While distracted, she saw a couple of crewmen walking around with the nets they had bought in Hazelpond. They would use the net to catch the fish and shrimp that lived in the waters. It was kind of amazing how something so small that could be carried by a single person could become so large when it was full.

Staring at the pattern on the net gave Hera an idea. She was trying to fill the chakram with mana, but maybe she should focus on creating a structure before anything else.

Trying once more, Hera weaved her mana, almost like she was making a cover for the weapon. It was harder to control mana like that. Making it follow a specific pattern without overflowing seemed impossible. Yet, little by little, Hera was able to start making her mana follow her instructions.

It was a bizarre feeling, a mix between controlling strands of hair and the liquid inside her stomach. Sometimes it felt like a muscle contracting and expanding as she willed it. Others, it would seem like saliva, always being created and moving around in response to any shifts.

This technique felt right. Hera could feel her growth, yet she was able to cover just 1/10th of her chakram with the mana net. It even spent much less mana than her previous attempts, but it was not enough. She needed more mana and a way to speed up her recovery.

The new feeling of the mana gave her a few ideas on how to increase her recovery. She could try to spread the mana and then compress it. That was the closest thing to muscle training that Hera could think of. She could also try to gather mana as if she was gathering spit, but she had no clue how to do that.

During most of the trip, Hera stayed on the deck, training her spells. A bit before sunset, they arrived at the place where she would disembark. They lowered a small boat on the left side of the ship and took the explorer to the right side of the cave, in a small area where she could reach the woods.

"Wow, Helena wasn't kidding when she said the forest gets dense. Can I even fit through there?" Hera mumbled.

"Not there. Behind it is a rock wall. You need to climb this side and go through the trees," The first mate said.

"Oh, right, Thanks," Hera looked away. Taking a closer look at the grass in front of her made it clear that it was just vegetation growing in the wall.

"No problem and give my thanks to Helena later. Without the reference book, she showed me. I would have bombed in the written test."

"Will do," Hera replied as the man row away in the boat.

Hera climbed the small barrier and reached the forest. The purple leaves made the entire area even darker than she was expecting.

"Ok, careful now, Hera. You don't know what's around here," Hera stepped into the forest, making some noise as a few branches split under her feet, "Why didn't I ask about what kind of monster I could see here?"

She activated her Hide and started moving through the forest, trying to listen to anything that could be getting close. It was difficult doing so since the noise of the waves crashing against the rocks was overpowering the rest. She activated her pulse, but even the spell had some trouble going through all the foliage. Her usual range was reduced to just over half. Using the Wire Trap style here would also be very complicated. There were too many obstacles in her way.

Hera kept walking towards the entrance of the cave. According to Helena, she should avoid sleeping in the dense part of the woods, and a good place to sleep was on the path to the plateau. Doing her best to take advantage of the little sunlight that broke through the canopy, Hera kept walking towards the east. Deactivating her [Hide], she proceeded to move at a faster pace. She still had a considerable amount of ground to cover.

The area wasn't far enough away from the sea to deafen the noise of the waves. Hera had to keep her eyes peeled for whatever could be around. She also kept using her pulse spell at regular intervals. Several times, she could have sworn that she saw something moving among the trees.

Part of her wanted to go after whatever it was, but she knew that there would be a better moment for that. She could see the sun starting to set, and staying in these woods at night seemed like a terrible idea. Hera still had a nagging feeling that something was watching her, but every time she looked around, all she could see was the dense woods. She activated her [Hide] once more and rushed forward, looking for a tree she could climb.

A few meters in front of her, there was a large and sturdy oak that seemed big enough to withstand her weight. She bolted for it and started climbing the tree. She hid among the branches and began to scan the area for movement. However, it was too dark for her to see anything clearly. The problem wasn't only the lack of light. The purple hue that tinted the vegetation in the entire room made things even more complicated.

After a while, Hera noticed that something seemed to be approaching. Some leaves and bushes kept moving in ways that didn't match the direction of the wind. Yet, she wasn't able to see whatever it was.

"Maybe I should try the light spell? No, bad idea, that would give my position to everything around here," Hera reached for her pouch, "What if I use the flashlight?"

Hera looked towards the sun. The light was shining right behind her. She grabbed the flashlight and pointed towards the last place she saw some movement. She saw a reflection from behind the trees, a pair of yellow eyes staring back at her.

"There you are," Hera activated her [Observe], but whatever was watching her was too far away for the skill to trigger, "Crap, what are you?"

The two stared at each other for a few moments. Hera turned the light off, her eyes fixed on the place where the creature was. She managed to see more or less the shape of it as it moved once more. It seemed quadruped and not as long as the crocodiles. She couldn't see a tail, but she assumed that the face was the smaller part that was pointed at the direction it was headed.

Hera turned the flashlight on once more. The creature was hidden behind one of the large trees, and only one of its eyes was visible right now. Hera saw the beast a bit better. It seemed to be some sort of panther. The monster took a step back, and she was able to see more of its body. The massive frame wasn't only fatty tissue. Hera was in awe by the muscular form of the monster. The small glimpse she was able to catch before the creature hid again made it almost look like it was one of those edited pictures of buff animals she could find on the internet.

The panther took a step back and disappeared within the foliage. Hera started to get worried. If there were more of those creatures around, she would have a lot of problems. She kept looking for the monster once more. Maybe she could hit it with one of her poison needles.

She waited for a while longer, making sure to keep her [Hide] active. The sun was already going down. If she waited too long, she would have to fight that creature in the night. That felt like the worst outcome of this scenario.

Taking a deep breath, Hera jumped off the tree and started running towards the cave entrance. It didn't take long for her to hear something approaching. She glanced back and saw the large panther rushing towards her. Activating her [Observe] and her elemental sight, she tried to gather any information about the monster.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

??????? (????? Affinity)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Shit!" Hera put all her strength into her legs.

Seeing that thing made every cell on Hera's body to scream for her to run away. There was only one reason for a monster to have question marks with an [Observe]. It meant it had a powerful concealing ability. Too powerful to be something from the first layer.

"I hope I'm wrong, and that is the only thing it's good at," she said to herself.

Hera tried to move between trees, zig-zagging to confuse the beast. The noise was getting closer, but the movement seemed to help the explorer. A couple of times, she heard the growl of the monster as it attempted to bite her. If it wasn't for her sidesteps, the panther would've gotten her.

She finally was able to see the end of the forest after almost twenty minutes of running and dodging. She pushed her body even harder, wanting to leave the forest to see her assailant.

As the trees became more sparse, the beast lunged at Hera. The growl warned Hera of the attack, who managed to turn around and block its claws with her axe at the last moment. The explorer fell, rolling in the ground to get up faster. The panther was already rushing at her for the next attack. Hera deflected it once more, being pushed back by the impact. Her arms were shaking after defending.

Hera could see the monster more clearly now. It had a deep purple skin, almost like the trunks of the surrounding trees. Its head was that of a panther, but it had four sets of large sharp teeth in place of the canines. Its body looked like that of a bull, the muscles framing its head.

The beast moved towards the trees, camouflaging itself with the environment. Fighting in the woods was a bad idea. And it was already getting too dark to see. Hera used her pulse, trying to find the monster once more, but to no avail.

Even the magic wasn't able to see it. The creature seemed comfortable with the dark. Maybe she could use that.

Hera got a spell ready, focusing on her hearing. The sound of leather tightening caught her attention coming from her right. She waited a moment, and when the panther jumped from its hiding, she activated her Light spell with all the strength she could, making the floodlight effect once more. At the same time, she dove forward to avoid the attack.

The monster fell, growling while it flailed around the spot where it landed. Hera took this opportunity and dashed towards the entrance. If she wanted to have a chance of fighting the monster, she needed to be in an open area. Before the creature was able to see again, Hera left the forest, reaching a rocky open area. She turned around, grabbing her chakram. She already had her weapon tied to Yarnball. Getting into her stance, Hera got ready to face the panther.

The monster moved towards her but stopped before leaving the treeline. It just stared at Hera for a long moment before walking back to the dense area, without breaking eye contact.

"Was... That it?" Hera said, still looking at the place where she stopped seeing the panther.

She kept looking at the woods for a few minutes, but nothing seemed to be moving. Feeling safe, she turned around and moved towards the rocky path that led up and to the right, leaving the cave of Brinefront.