"Ok, despite having to pay for everyone's lunch. It was a really nice place." Bonnie said as they walked into the guild.

  "Yeah, what was that thing with black beans and pork? That was amazing," Leo commented, rubbing his stomach like an old man.

  "I'm not sure. It's a bean stew that came from Brazil. Since it's Friday, I thought we could try something different," Hera said.

  "I think it was called Feijoada. But don't quote me on that," Alex added. She waved to Helena as the were passing by the corridor. The mage was on the reception desk dealing with a line of people.

  "Can we go there again? There were a few dishes I didn't get to try," Blue said with a smile.

  It was hard to believe she could still think about food right now. She ate four large dishes. At first, it was just to spite Bonnie, but she ended up loving the food.

  "Seriously. Where does the food goes to? You eat way too much for being that skinny," Alex chimed in.

  "I'm not skinny, look at this." Blue grabbed her belly through her clothes to show the size of her gut, "I'm fat!"

  "C'mon Blue, you might be a bit overweight, but saying that you are fat is just like Hera when she said she wasn't pretty," Alex countered.

  "Hey! What do I have to do with this?" Hera protested.

  She was the one who told them about the restaurant. There was no need to put her in the middle of it.

  "Wait. You said you weren't pretty?" Bonnie stared at Hera in shock.

  "We will be late for class, let's go." Hera quickly walked away towards the training area.

  The group still tried to get an answer from her, but to no avail. In a few moments, they had arrived in the training room that Mr. Greyson asked them to meet him. They still had to wait a few minutes before class started. Thankfully, Alex had changed the subject, and no one was pestering Hera about her appearance.

  Looking around, Hera saw that all the recruits were already waiting for the teacher. Noticing her, Anaya walked over.

  "So, do you know what we are doing today?" the woman asked Hera.

  Felling a bit confused by the question, she just shook her head, "No. Why would I?"

  "Because you are really close to the teacher. I figured you had some inside knowledge," Anaya put a strange emphasis on 'really' that made Hera even more confused.

  "What are you talking about?" she blurted.

  Blue, Leo, Alex, and Bonnie had similar looks of bewilderment.

  Anaya rolled her eyes, "Are you going to play this game? It's obvious you two are fucking. I saw that countless times back in school. He keeps giving you special treatment, like letting you walk in late without a problem. You know how to calm him down when he's trowing a fit. You knew he would be in the training room. And he always seems to be staring at you during training. I even heard you two talking about a special skill you have. That's not something you tell just anyone."

  Hera kept staring at the woman with bronze skin and a bindi on her forehead, unable to put into words what she was feeling. Thankfully, Blue wasn't as stunned as her.

  "What the actual fuck are you talking about?" Pamella shook her head.

  "About how your friend here is hiding the gold. If we know what Calvin is going to do, our lives would be much easier."

  "Why the fuck do you think she's sleeping with him?" Bonnie sighed.

  "I've just told you. The two of them are too close, and she keeps getting special treatment. Considering how old she is, I'm sure he's the one who paid for her level up. You must have given him quite a night for it to be worth it," Anaya scoffed.

  Alex was about to say something, but Hera jumped in first, "I don't know where you got that idea, but. There's nothing happening between me and Mr. Grayson. I had never even met him before class started. He didn't say anything when I got late because I had just enrolled, and Helena smoothed things out for me. And at one time you said we were talking. We were talking about a skill that I have. He was just helping me understand it a bit better."

  "See, he already knows a skill you have. That's not the type of information you give to anyone," Anaya insisted.

  "How dumb can you be?" Bonnie asked, "The Guild records our information when we enroll. They know every skill that we have. And they do that exactly so they can teach us how to use them"

  "Yeah," Hera nodded, "And before you say anything, the only reason why I was late for the first class is that I had just gained a level up. I mean, I won the gachapon thing the Guild was doing, and that's how I got my level."

  "Oh, so you're a nobody. Or maybe just a charity case. Yeah, that makes much more sense," Anaya's face lit up as she had just discovered a new world, and she walked away, not letting anyone respond to her comment.

  The group of friends all just stared at the woman for a moment. Stunned by the things she said. Eventually, Hera was the one to break the silence.

  "Is anything that she said remotely accurate? Am I passing the impression that I'm hooking up with Mr. Grayson?"

  "No," the entire group replied at once.

  "Honestly, that girl needs to get out of her high school delusions and understand that this is the real world. Things are go well beyond boys and who's hooking up with who," Blue sighed.

  "It's kind of sad, actually," Leo said, and no one else could phrase it in a better way. Especially since they didn't have more time to talk about that as the teacher walked into the training room.

  "Ye'r already here? Good, let's start."

  The teacher opened a big white box. This one was more wide than tall. Taking a bow, he tested the string and nodded before calling the recruits to pick their weapons. When all the recruits were back in line, the teacher asked.

  "How many of ye ever used a bow and actually hit something before? Raise yer hands."

  To everyone's surprise, the only one who raised his hand was Mark. Feeling the gaze of the recruits, Mark scoffed.

  "What? I always liked movies about archers, so I took some lessons." He crossed his arms, not letting go of the bow.

  "Very well, then show us how it's done, laddie." Mr. Greyson pressed a key on his tablet, and the wooden dummies moved towards the arenas.

  Mark picked one of the arrows he got from the box and took a deep breath. Getting into position, he raised his elbow high. It was an odd sight, the arm he was using to hold the arrow was in a weird angle.

  After a few seconds, Mark fired the arrow, hitting the dummy straight in the chest. The screen behind it showed a score of 12.

  "Very Good. Master archers can only hit a 15 with those bows. Without skills that is," The teacher complimented the recruit for the first time.

  Tiffany gasped, "Are you saying Mark is almost a master? That Mark?"

  "Are you daft, lassie? Of course not. Bows work differently than other weapons. With a sword or a spear, ye can use yer own stat to increase the force of the attack. Using a bow, it's harder to do that. Ye need to switch the materials used to make the weapon to show yer true strength," Mr. Greyson explained.

  The training for the day was purely archery. There was no trick to it, or even moving targets. Just the very basics. To everyone's surprise, Mark was doing better than anyone else. He hit close to the center of the target with every shot and barely ever missed. While others, Like Blue and Hera, would sometimes struggle to make the arrow even fly the entire distance.

  Another strange aspect of this was the lack of a challenge. At no point during the class Mr. Greyson tell them what score to beat, or what they had to do. By the end of the day, the teacher simply gathered everyone around and spoke.

  "As ye know, we have class on Saturdays. But it is different than our usual lessons. Ye need to be here by 10, and we will probably be done by 2. Ye all can plan yer weekends accordingly. Just one more thing, don't come in with a full stomach. That might be a problem for the test ye will do tomorrow."

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  The second he finished explaining, a few recruits started to ask questions. Wanting to know more about the tests.

  "Pipe down! Tomorrow ye will learn more about the test. Don't worry, it's not something that ye can study for. Just come in and do yer best. For today, ye are all dismissed," Mr. Greyson shouted.

  Ending the class early, the teacher left the training room without saying another word. The situation confused most recruits, and it took a while for them to leave the guild.

  Hera and her friends went looking for a place to eat. At this hour, there were a few food trucks near the station, which became their pick. Not only because it was close by but also because they were craving junk food after a more gourmet lunch.

  "Any ideas about what this test is going to be?" Leo asked between bites of his hotdog.

  "No clue, maybe it's the one where we have to beat our first score," Blue had just finishing her taco and was starting the second one.

  "I don't know, it seems too soon for it, right? Just one week." Alex dipped a few fries on a specialty sauce.

  "It doesn't matter what the test is. I will not fail," Bonnie said with a veggie wrap in her hand.

  The whole group turned and stared at her for a few moments. When Hera finally finished chewing her burger, she said.

  "Bonnie, no one wants to fail. That's a given."

  "No, no, little miss perfect is already telling that she will pass the test. Without even knowing what it is," Blue snickered.

  "At least I'm confident enough in my skills to say that. Not like you, who only won the bet by sheer luck," Bonnie countered.

  The two women started bickering once again. The rest of the group sighed and finished their meals while speculating about the test.

  Hera let herself wake up late in the morning or, at least, later than she was waking up during the week. Sleeping until 8 was very different from having to get up at 5:30.

  She took her time to get to the guild, and yet she arrived well over one hour before class was supposed to start. The idea of a test made her too anxious to wait around some place else.

  Hera wasn't the only one. Most of the recruits were already there when she arrived. By 9:30, the whole class was present. As time went by, the tension in the classroom grew. People did try to talk and relax, but it got to a point where any small noise coming from the hallway was enough to silence the recruits.

  It wasn't simply because of the test, but the actions of their teacher concerned every single one of them. At exactly 10 A.M. Mr. Greyson walked through the door.

  "Yer all here already? Good. Follow me. Ye can bring yer stuff with ye."

  He barely took one step inside before giving his command. Soon the whole class was following him to the elevator. He beeped his bracelet on a scanner, and the elevator went down.

  "As ye may know. They built the guild around the place where ye can unlock yer level up. But what is less known is that the building was also built around an entrance to the MAZE. Since the Great War, when Cyrus led the armies of men to push back the monsters, it was decided it would be built like this. Today, if a really strong monster tries to pass through, we can collapse the building to prevent it from reaching the outside. Not that something like that ever happened before. Nor we expect to happen in the future. It's just a precaution."

  The teacher looked at the recruits. All had different expressions, but it was clear that they were all worried. "Don't worry, ye are not going inside the MAZE today," he added.

  The elevator door opened, showing a big hallway. Being led by the teacher, the recruits quickly arrived at an auditorium. Everyone took a seat, forming small groups, only a tiny amount of the over 100 seats were taken when Mr. Greyson tapped his tablet.

  The curtains on the stage opened, revealing a doorway. It had a pearl frame that seemed to be filled with small glowing lights. Almost as if it was covered in a thin layer of glitter. It was just enough to make it seem like you were looking at the night sky.

  Above it, there was a circle with an extremely intricate design. Various lines would twist and turn, spiraling with each other, making a strange type of laurel. In the center of the circle, there was the image of a blank card. The same type of card everyone older than 18 had.

  The very same card that Hera still carried in her purse.

  "Today, ye will go to a simulation. It's an artificial dungeon that was created to give you an experience close to the ones ye will have inside the MAZE," Mr. Greyson explained.

  The recruits stared at the doorway. That would be the first taste they ever got of the MAZE. A mix of excitement and fear washed over Hera. She wanted to go inside, but what if she failed? Yet, there was no time for her to think about that as the teacher quickly continued.

  "Ok, before ye all have any ideas, let me explain a few things. First, this ain't the MAZE. It is a simulation, much like the one ye will go in for the final test. This one is just smaller and more simple. Even though it's a simulation, ye still can get hurt. So before going in, each of ye will receive an escape button. If ye are in trouble, just press it and the simulation will stop."

  Mr. Greyson explained while showing a bowl full of the red buttons.

  "Inside, think about yerself. Don't rush in and try not to bite more than what ye can chew. This is a simulation, but don't think it's just a game. Ye can get hurt, ye can die in there. And there will be none to help you. What ye have to do inside will show up when ye get there."

  Again, without letting anyone else say anything, the teacher quickly moved along. He walked toward the doorway and stood in front of it.

  "Now, form a line in front of me. To enter the room, place the hand that has yer bracelet in the middle of the door. It will open, and ye can get in. Only after it's fully closed, the next one can go." He showed the motion using the arm that didn't have a bracelet.

  "Mr. Greyson, does that mean we need to wait for each of us to finish the test before the next one goes in?" Mark asked.

  "No, laddie. Ye only need to wait for the door to close. This dungeon can have more than 100 people inside at once, and each of ye will be alone in yer private simulation. So, don't worry about it."

  Having finished his explanation, the teacher rushed the recruits to form a line. It wasn't hard as they were all excited with the idea of going inside a dungeon for the first time. Hera wasn't sure if she wanted to be in the front or not. But it didn't end up being an issue as her friends naturally ended up in the middle of the group.

  One by one, the recruits received a red button and entered the simulation. After the door opened, they could only see a bright white light inside. Even when someone walked in, the light continued to shine. And once the next recruit opened the door, there was no one else inside.

  Hera's heart started to beat faster with each step she took. Even if this were a simulation, this would be the first time she would enter a dungeon. It came to Leo's turn, who was directly in front of her. The man gave Hera a nod and a smile before walking through the doorway.

  In her turn, Hera took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

  "Don't worry, you can do it." Blue said.

  The girl was behind her. It helped to hear a friendly voice. But Hera knew this was something she had to do alone.

  She placed her right hand in the center of the doorway. The bracelet on her wrist seemed to tighten, and then the door opened. Inside, there was a completely white room. It was even hard to differentiate the floor from the walls. Hera gingerly stepped in, making sure there was something under her. Little by little, her eyes adjusted to the room.

  Just then, the door closed behind her, making a small thud sound before disappearing. Hera looked around only to find the entrance completely gone. The room seemed to be endless. There were no walls, no ceiling, and no objects around. Only an infinite white space.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Welcome to the preparation room.

  Please choose your weapon.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Hera stared at the notification that had appeared for a moment. That specific one felt odd. Almost as if it wasn't made by the System itself. And there were several reasons for that.

  First, it wasn't directly in front of her, but above. System notifications never made you move your head around to see them. Second, it didn't follow her movements. If she turned her head, the notification would stay still. That wasn't right.

  Yet, the weirdest part was, it was polite. The system was never polite, it only gave you information. Never she had seen a 'please' or a 'thank you' in any notifications.

  Looking under the notification, Hera could see a series of weapon racks. She was still in that white void, which felt very similar to a famous movie about virtual reality. The positioning of the weapons seemed to follow the same pattern that she had seen back in the training room.

  She scanned those racks, looking for something she could use. Reaching the swords, it felt like the best option, after all, it was the weapon she had more practice with.

  She picked a short sword that she could wield with one hand. Since nothing changed, Hera looked for a shield. The notification said nothing about being able to pick only one. She wanted to be ready for anything.

  Before reaching the shields, Hera went past the axes. There was a small handaxe that caught her attention. It was close to the one she tried on the first day of training. She had a better grasp of how to move with a weapon now. Maybe this time it would feel right.

  Deciding to follow her gut, Hera picked the handaxe and placed it on her belt. Only then she noticed that her clothes had changed. She was wearing something similar the training armor, but it looked like it was made of leather, with combat boots and arm guards. This could be just part of the simulation.

  However, the idea of something changing her clothes without her knowing bothered her. It felt strange, and no one ever said that something like that could happen in the MAZE. Then again, no one ever said it couldn't happen either.

  With her sword and axe at hand, Hera looked past the weapon racks where a new notification had appeared.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Please use your bracelet to open the door to the simulation.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Under that message, there was a pedestal with a small tablet on top. It looked like a large fingerprint scanner.

  Hera walked towards it and placed her hand with the bracelet on the scanner. A door appeared in front of her. This one, however, seemed to be made out of wood, with large rusted iron rings as handles.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Please proceed to the next area to begin the simulation.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Hera pushed the door, opening it. Instead of just walking in, she froze for a moment. Her whole body seemed to vibrate as if she were in one of those massage chairs. It was an odd feeling, and when it was over, the door and the room had vanished.

  She was now in a dark cave, with only some small torchlights on the path. There was a strange smell of stale air with a hint of sweat surrounding her. Her feet were touching something softer. It was still solid ground, but she could dig her heels through the layer of orange dirt.

  There was even a low howling coming from far away. It made Hera think of a passage where wind was passing through, but she couldn't feel any sort of gust here. Looking back, she couldn't see the door she took to get here. It was just more of the same brown cave.

  Hera couldn't help but approach the walls and see the crevices. It was surprisingly well made. Each crack, each bump, everything felt natural. However, that only lasted a few moments. The second she took a step back and looked at things from a wider point of view, the pattern started repeating.

  That same crack forming a twisted Y was in front of her, and also to the right and left. The bump that she noticed could be found elsewhere. Every single unique aspect of this was repeated, like a pattern that was pasted over the walls again and again. Looking back at the tunnel, Hera saw another notification directly above it. It had the familiar shade of blue, but it looked a little off. Still, she focused on the message and what she was about to do next.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Beginning the simulation.

  To complete it, defeat the monster leader at the end of the cave.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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