In the end, the party decided to ask not to be exclusively hunting wendigos, which was something the Alliance accepted. But, if it were an emergency situation like this, they would still ask for their help. The information about the [Hunter's Catalogue] skill was also shared. A few people already knew about that increased rate for the bonus, and some teams were formed that would mostly be dealing with the wendigos. However, each of those teams had a hunter among them. Since Hera only had the explorer version of the skill, it wouldn't be as powerful as a true hunter's. Not only was there a cap to the bonus she could get, but her party only received a small percentage of the effects. Because of this, her team was a solid backup for dealing with that type of monster but would likely not be called in as a first option. All of this was reported directly to Queen Typhera since the possibility of no one realizing the benefits the hunter's skill would bring when dealing with the wendigo existed. On the other hand, the information about their next mission came from Milla a few hours later.

A city in a nearby room was having some problems due to an infestation of bugs. They could clear the insects without a problem since they already knew it would happen around once a year during the summer, right after the rainy season. The issue was the pathogens they could carry. If the mosquitoes bit monsters with a specific disease, that virus would mutate inside them, and when they did the same with a person, that individual would get very sick very quickly. It would take a healer several times more powerful than the creatures in the room to completely cure someone. In contrast, those in the same level range could, at most, keep people alive. There was a known antidote, but one of the materials required for it could only be dropped by the boss of a dungeon. It was possible to make the antidote without that, but the alternative version would take longer and be much more expensive to make. Not to mention that it would be less effective. The item was a horn dropped from the boss of that specific dungeon. A single horn could create around 100 doses of the antidote. But since the number of people protecting the city was smaller than usual, this also meant that more people were bitten by the mosquitoes, and more people ended up getting sick.

They had expected this, but since the horn could also be used to make some decently strong accessories that protected people from various types of ailments, their stock was smaller than they had hoped. To top it off, the initial migration of the bugs happened a couple of weeks earlier than they predicted. This cascade of events resulted in the city not being prepared to deal with the infestation and more people than they expected getting sick. As a result, they ran out of supplies for the antidote. People hadn't abandoned the place completely. They still had guards and sentinels to defend the city against monster attacks or protect the crops that grew on the farms. However, they were already stretched thin and couldn't afford to form a group to run a specific dungeon on repeat, even if that meant that a couple of dozen people would suffer.

The mission Hera and her team received was to go to that run and spend two weeks running that dungeon, trying to get the horn to drop so they could save the people. If they couldn't finish that during that time frame, they would have to warn the Alliance so they could send a high-level healer to try to cure the patients. Almost all high-level healers were close to the front lines, ready to help any soldier who was injured. They were also working as another line of defense, but one specialized against chemical warfare. If the humans tried to poison a water well or something along those lines, the healers could cleanse the poison and detect its source. Taking even one of them out of their posts would create a gap in their defenses that could be exploited by their enemy.

Despite all that, the Alliance wasn't about to abandon its people. If Hera's team wasn't able to find the horn, they would send someone over to cure them. Curing those people would also free up a couple of healers who were deemed too weak to stay on the front lines and were currently working as wandering medics. The larger cities around the MAZE wouldn't need their help since they had proper hospitals and doctors. However, it was different for the smaller settlements and villages. They depended on healers or crafters who specialized in potions and ointments to keep their population healthy. Due to the heavy reliance on those people, anyone who was stationed at one of those smaller places would level up quickly, and now, during a war, they were asked to help the front lines.

Hera and her team would leave in the morning together with a shipment of food and supplies. They would take three days to reach their destination, and during that time, they would be working as the escort for the supplies. However, calling them escorts was a bit of a stretch. From the city, they would be taking a truck to the entrance of the next room, and the few next rooms would allow the same luxury. Then, they would swap to smaller cars and would be on their own on the final day.

For today, the group was done with their work, and they decided to get some drinks. It's been just a couple of days since they've known each other, and they didn't have a chance to hang out in a more casual setting. This time, instead of talking about their skills or capabilities, they just chatted about themselves, their families, and the things they liked and didn't like.

Hera was the only member of the group who didn't have siblings. Vash had two brothers and three sisters, all of whom were born from the same clutch. That was something no one in the party knew about how the Children of the Sky had, well, children. That was one of their more bird-like features. A female harpy could have between one and eight eggs at a time, and their babies were tiny. His family was very close, even if each of them ended up on different paths in life, but they all lived in the Aerie of the First Flight. Vash himself was the only one who craved traveling.

Roan was a bit of a special case. His tribe followed what he called the 'old ways.' Even if they were living in a city like everyone else, basically, when a child was born, they would be a child of the tribe, not of the parents themselves. They would grow up with their parents for a few years and then be placed in the care of the tribe to learn, grow, and eventually decide their careers. Most people of his tribe didn't have memories of their parents from when they were young and would only properly get to know them after they were already old enough to be on their own. Instead of having a close relationship with their mother or their father, the people of his tribe would be close to their brothers and sisters, who were, in essence, their childhood friends.

Neria's situation was more standard; she had a younger sister trying to be part of the triton guard, but she was still too young even to have her first level up. Then came Skyler and Flint—the two who belonged to the species with the longest life span. Hera was somewhat curious about how their families worked when instead of living for a hundred years or so, you would live for three hundred to a thousand. Flint had six siblings, but they were, on average, twenty-five years apart from each other. From what the Empress understood, every thirty years or so, a dwarven couple had another child. If they wanted, of course. There were cases when they would have them closer together, but that was rare. In a way, Hera understood that. Raising multiple children at once sounded hard, but if you only lived to a hundred, waiting eighteen years to have another could bring some issues.

Skyler was the last, and she was the youngest among her siblings. She was also a noble, but due to their long life span, they had a very unique perspective in life. Being nobility didn't mean they were better or more worthy than others. It was quite the opposite. Nobles had more responsibility. They were required to think always about what was best for the entire species and the MAZE itself. It sounded like a pressure-filled existence, but according to the elf, it wasn't as bad as it sounded. Living for a very long time forced one to learn how to think before acting. Patience wasn't a skill but a necessity. It wasn't uncommon for someone to spend years mulling over big decisions. Another big issue elves had was population control. Elven women had a similar situation to dwarven women. While the latter would only be able to have children once every year, the former could do so only once every three years. Even so, elves understood that if they just started to multiply willy-nilly, they would have problems.

In theory, the MAZE was infinity, but the elves knew the current number of safe places to raise children wasn't. Because of this, eleven parents were limited to five children. Nothing would happen if the last pregnancy resulted in twins, triplets, or something beyond that. But if a family insisted on having more children, then they would have to pay increasingly higher taxes on pretty much everything. Legally, that was just a slap on the wrist, but culturally, it was a mark of shame. Proof that they were unable to follow their rules and were unwilling to act as proper elves.

The elven controller had everyone's undivided attention while talking about her life. There was something alluring about knowledge of such a long-living species, and the entire team let her talk as much as she wanted about her culture. Skyler herself was the fifth child and the youngest one, and the usual stereotype was true. Her parents let her roam around wildly and do whatever she wanted while treating her as if she was precious at the same time. She knew her three brothers and one sister were a bit annoyed by that. However, since they never lived together, they didn't have as many problems as other families with siblings usually did.

Lastly, it came Hera's turn. And being the only one without siblings felt a bit weird. She didn't dump everything that happened during her childhood but mentioned that she didn't have a good relationship with her mother, and now her parents have divorced. With that 'speed dating' round over, they continued talking about their likes and dislikes, the things they wanted to do before the war, and the things they liked doing to have fun. Everyone agreed to have a movie night when they had a chance, and thanks to a karaoke night in the bar, they started singing some old classics.

Hera enjoyed her time with the group, even if the singing was rough. Everyone got a bit tipsy except for the Empress herself since her poison resistance would stop her from getting to that point. Eventually, they went back to the hotel and slept, getting ready for the following day. In the morning, as they were about to leave, Neria had to tap Vash and Roan with a detox spell to fix their hangover, but that was it. They had a few days of travel before reaching their next destination.