Hera looked at the entrance that had just opened. It was a large room with several tool racks, a large workbench 5 meters long and 5 meters wide, and a shelf with multiple Yarnballs just like the one attached to Hera's waist.

The Empress squinted at that area, and before stepping forward, she turned to the guide once more, "What's the catch?"

"What do you mean, kid?" Peaches asked.

"Every other test asks me to find out the hidden mission in the middle of the test. Why is this one different?"

"Oh, consider it a freebie," Peaches replied.

Hera squinted at him, "Again. What's the catch? Why am I getting this right away?"

"Actually, I'm curious about it too. If I'm supposed to be helping the New Naga people out, is that how it goes?"

Peaches sighed, "Ok, no. This is not how it is supposed to be. Look, the actual mission would ask you to pick a few items in the room to rebuild. You could pick whatever you want, and I know you well enough to know you would ask about the relic, especially when all of your friends keep talking about how this is the place to figure out how to change your relic by yourself. So I just speeded up the process, ok? Are you telling me you wouldn't ask if you could test that with your relic?" the guide scoffed.

"Not really. I agree that I would ask that. I already had something in mind about that since they mentioned it so much," Hera replied.

"So there is that. Stop complaining and get to work, will you? You only have 23 hours and some change left."

"But there wasn't even a notification," Hera protested.

"Yeah, but you already picked the quest. Just go," Peaches huffed.

"Fine, fine," Hera chuckled and walked inside the workshop. As soon as she stepped inside, a notification appeared in front of her.

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Explorer's Crafter Role - Hidden Mission

Your relic is a unique item inside the MAZE that the system makes and upgrades when certain conditions are met. However, that does not mean that no one is able to change or modify said relic. As an explorer, if you unlock the Explorer's Blueprint skill, you will be able to study your relic enough to receive its blueprint. Keep in mind that you will not be able to make a second relic. Only customize your current one.

Study the relic enough to unlock the Explorer's Blueprint and your relic's blueprint.

Rewards:

Explorer's Blueprint

Yarnball's blueprint

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"It's a good thing I don't have to open the original," Hera looked at the shelf and picked one of them. She placed it on the workbench and started to compare it with the one on her waist.

It was still a white box that looked a lot like the case for some dental floss with a black screen that would show the answer she wanted to get from her questions. On the back, there was a small clip that was sturdy but not impossible to move. At the very edge of that clip was a magnet that would snap to the rest of Yarnball after she let go. The magnetism was so strong that it would make sure she wouldn't lose the relic even when being trashed around inside a whirlpool. When opening the top part, she would have access to the string that gave Yarnball its name, even if these days Hera barely ever used it. That being said, there were two clear differences between the original relic and the version that was in here. First, Yarnball, the one she had ever since entering the MAZE, had a few markings here and there. A small scratch or a bump here and there. Nothing that would actually cause a problem, but just signals that showed the relic has been through a lot along its owner. The other difference was that behind the version created in this place. There was a stamp that read 'For test purposes only.'

"Right… how do I get this open then?" Hera asked and looked at the tool rack. There were countless options to pick from, from small screwdrivers to larger power tools like a handsaw and some other things that she didn't even know which part was pointing up. The good thing was that everything was labeled, so she would at least have an idea of what each tool would do.

'Empress, here,' Edge called from the other side of the room. Most of her court had spread out, and she was now looking at everything available for her to use. Hera walked over and saw a small tool that looked like a weird flashlight, the type that one would have clipped on top of a book to read before bed. It was labeled 'Structural Scanner.'

"Oh, that's a good call. Thanks, Edge," Hera smiled at the small knife before taking the tool out of the rack and walking back to the workbench.

She put the original Yarnball back on her waist to avoid confusing them and used the Structural Scanner on the replica. A blue light came from the top of this oddly shaped flashlight and slowly covered the duplicate relic. The whole process took about 10 minutes, with the light going up and down four times in total before it was over. When the blue light vanished, a small red dot appeared in a few spots. Two around the screen, two in the back, and one inside the flap. Then, from those spots, lines flew out and connected to different tools in the racks as if they were showing what Hera had to use on those spots.

Going to the closest tool, Hera took a look at it. It looked a lot like a chisel with a crystal edge, but as she pressed against the tip, it moved almost as if it was made out of syrup. It would even stick to her finger slightly, but as she pulled it away, the chisel returned to its regular shape without leaving anything stuck to her.

"Oh… this is weird," Hera mumbled and looked at the tool's name. It was called 'Liquid Crystal Chisel,'" I don't know why I was expecting something different," she sighed.

Taking the tool out of the rack, the Empress walked back to the table and was about to open one of the replicas before stopping, realizing that she never actually took a look at the replicas to see their skills. It should match her own Yarnball, but it was still something she had to do.

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Yarnball - Explorer's relic - Test Replica

An extremely resilient string that takes its strength from its owner. The string can be used to control other objects or to bind a target. The relic can also reveal the answer to a question if the right price is paid.

Passive effects:

Phantom string

The string can be attached to an object by imbuing some mana into the string. While attached, you can move the string using mana. The string is able to pass through objects and creatures depending on their strength at the user's will. If the string is currently touching a creature or object, the behavior of the string cannot be changed.

Current maximum distance: 40 Meters

Active effects:

Magic Ball

By injecting mana into Yarnball, asking a question, then shaking it. You can ask a question and receive a reply through the screen on the side of the case. The amount of mana required for each answer will vary, and if not enough mana is used, the reply won't be of much use. If the question is related to a location or something too big for the screen, the information will show in your [Treasure Map]. The accuracy of the question depends on the owner's strength.

Cooldown: 2 hours

If this effect is used to find a living creature, the cooldown is reduced to 1 hour.

Binding thread

When something touches the thread, you can activate this ability to bind that target. The stronger the target, the more charges will be spent. The duration of the bind will depend on the target's strength. You are able to put multiple binds in the same target. However, they will have diminishing effects.

10/10 charges

Recover 1 charge each hour.

Test Replica

This item is a replica created by the current test. Its pieces and materials cannot be taken out of the testing area.

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"Oh wow. When was the last time I used anything else aside from the questions?" Hera asked.

"I think we used the binding thread against that proto-slime thing," Nimbus added.

"Maybe, but still, it's not something I ever think about using. Maybe I should change this."

'That is a good idea. If your relic can do something as strong as answering questions as it does, it might be able to do something else that is equally powerful even if it is in another direction,' Lurize nodded while speaking in her mind.

"I don't know if that will be the case. Not right away, at least. I mean, I only got that skill because of a tarot card," Hera explained.

"A tarot card?" Lurize asked.

"Yeah, I didn't have any of you at the time. Not even Daskka, I think. But it was like this.." Hera started to explain the upgrades she got from the time before she got the legacy. It was fun to reminisce about some things, even in this situation. Not wanting to waste time, Hera was talking while she was working on opening one of the replicas. The Liquid Crystal Chisel was the last thing she had to use since it would be used to disconnect the visor from the rest of the relic. Aside from it, she needed a Power Magnetic Screwdriver to unscrew a few pieces without actually touching the screw itself. Lastly, there was something called a Resoldering Iron that could both remove a soldering job and make a new one. Since all those tools were made with magic, they had a much better performance than anything that Hera could find elsewhere.

Nimbus and Lurize were working as the Empress' assistants, grabbing the tools she needed. At the same time, Daskka made sure to keep the surrounding temperature comfortable for her so Hera wouldn't start sweating. All the while, the Empress continued to tell tales of her earlier adventures with her court floating around her, enthralled by the stories. They weren't the only ones paying attention, but outside, watching them through the monitors. Tara listened to everything and wrote down anything she found relevant. Hera could be the firstborn of a new race, and as its Ancestor, Tara would make sure to have stories to tell the new generations.

When Hera finally opened one of Yarnball's replicas, she saw how it was split into two pieces. One where the black visor was located and another where the string was made. Both of them were split by a metallic plate that was part of the relic's frame. Hera grabbed the Liquid Crystal Chisel, placed it under the black visor, and used the metal plate to give it a bit of leverage and hit it with a bit of mana. The visor resonated, and once she felt the vibrations stop, she removed it from the artifact, leaving behind a hole in the middle of the relic's face. She placed the visor to the side and was about to dismantle the part where the string was created when she stopped. There was a unique flow of mana around that part. It was somewhat mechanical but very natural at the same time. As she took out the pieces that would fabricate the string, she realized that they were connected by mana, forming a structure similar to that of a spell circle, but it was both more complicated and more simple at the same time. Hera couldn't tell which part of what would give the commands to the mana, but she could understand the underlying order. 'Make a string.'

Even more impressive was that after taking that entire structure out and placing it outside of the relic, it was still working. By all accounts, the visor and the string-making were the core of her relic, while the rest was just the container where it would be in.

"It's kind of amazing that you opened it without damaging anything," Nimbus said.

"You're right. I didn't expect things to go so well," Hera replied.

Almost as if it heard the comments, the pieces responsible for making the string started to rev up and spat out all of the string, binding Lurize and a couple of other blades together while more of the string fell on top of Hera, Nimbus, and Daskka.

"You two had to zay it, didn't you?"